Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Obesity exposes to multiple complications, including cardiovascular and metabolic ones. It can also cause respiratory problems, which are still insufficiently researched. The objective of this study was to detect respiratory abnormalities in a group of obese people followed in an obesity unit.

Methods: This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study of 100 obese patients consulting at the human obesity research unit of the National Institute of Nutrition in Tunis. Each patient underwent a clinical examination (history, anthropometric parameters, eating habits, symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome) and a biological assessment.

Results: The average age of our patients was 45.08 ± 13.93 years, with a clear female predominance (88%). The average weight was 103.76 ± 17.9 kg. The average BMI was 38.95 ± 5.72 kg/m². The average waist circumference was 123.88 ± 13.13 cm and the average fat mass was 45.98 ± 12.22 kg. Sedentary lifestyle was noted in 60% of the study population. 44% of the subjects were overweight, 33% had class I obesity, 20% had class II obesity and 3% had class III obesity. The majority of our population (72%) had central obesity. Within this population, 53.5% had dyspnoea, 65% had nocturnal snoring, 50% described daytime sleepiness and 31.3% experienced apnea during sleep. The analytical study showed a positive association between BMI and the onset of possible nocturnal snoring. On the other hand, no positive association was found between BMI and the following factors: dyspnea, daytime sleepiness and the onset of apnea during sleep.

Conclusions: The diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea requires a systematic and early approach to clinical screening for respiratory disorders. Better accessibility to respiratory explorations would improve the quality of care in this population.