Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness changes in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome:one year follow-up results

Abstract:

AIM:To investigate the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness changes in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) for one year follow-up. To discuss the possibility of detecting tendency of glaucoma in this population by using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (3D-OCT-2000 Spectral domain).METHODS:After polysomnographic study, all subjects (64 OSAS patients and 40 controls) underwent detailed ophthalmological examination. After these examinations, patients with glaucoma and patients who had ophthalmological and/or systemic disease were excluded from the study. Totally, 20 patients in OSAS group and five patients in controls were excluded from the study in the first examination and follow-up period. The RNFL thickness was assessed with OCT. Forty-four OSAS patients and 35 control subjects were followed up 12mo. RNFL thickness change and OSAS patients were evaluated for severity of disease by Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI).RESULTS:Forty-four OSAS patients and 35 controls were enrolled in the study. Statistically significance was found between OSAS patients and controls at the 12^th mo. Average RNFL thickness was found to be significantly lower in last measurements in OSAS patients when compared with first measurements and control subjects (P<0.001, 0.002, respectively). There was a statistically significant correlation among AHI, and RNFL thickness (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:The results suggest that the patients with OSAS were related with a proportional decrease in the RNFL thickness. These patients should be followed up regularly for glaucomatous changes. Detecting more RNFL thinning in severe OSAS was important.