Study design: Systematic review with meta-analysis.
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in people with tetraplegia and to identify the characteristics associated with SDB.
Methods: A systematic literature search using Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and grey literature sources was conducted using a combination of spinal cord injury (SCI) and SDB related terms. Articles were restricted to publication dates between 1/1/2000 and 4/9/2020 and with objectively measured SDB with an overnight sleep study. The frequency of SDB stratified by the apnoea hypopnea index (AHI) was extracted and weighted averages, using a random effects model, were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. Sub-group analyses were performed where possible.
Results: Twelve articles were included in the review; of these nine were included in meta-analysis (combined sample = 630). Sample sizes and case detection methods varied. Reported SDB prevalence rates ranged from 46 to 97%. The prevalence of at least mild (AHI ≥ 5), moderate (AHI ≥ 15) and severe (AHI ≥ 30) SDB were 83% (95% CI = 73-91), 59% (46-71) and 36% (26-46), respectively. Sub-group analyses found that prevalence increased with age (p < 0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in SDB prevalence by sex (p = 0.06), complete/incomplete SCI (p = 0.06), body mass index (p = 0.07), acute/chronic SCI (p = 0.73) or high/low level of cervical SCI (p = 0.90).
Conclusion: Our results confirm that SDB is highly prevalent in people with tetraplegia, and prevalence increases with age. The high prevalence suggests that routine screening and subsequent treatment should be considered in both acute and community care.