Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Women: Study of Speech and Craniofacial Characteristics (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder characterized by frequent cessation of breathing lasting 10 seconds or longer. The diagnosis of OSA is performed through an expensive procedure, which requires an overnight stay at the hospital. This has led to several proposals based on the analysis of patients’ facial images and speech recordings as an attempt to develop simpler and cheaper methods to diagnose OSA. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to analyze possible relationships between OSA and speech and facial features on a female population and whether these possible connections may be affected by the specific clinical characteristics in OSA population and, more specifically, to explore how the connection between OSA and speech and facial features can be affected by gender. METHODS All the subjects are Spanish subjects suspected to suffer from OSA and referred to a sleep disorders unit. Voice recordings and photographs were collected in a supervised but not highly controlled way, trying to test a scenario close to a realistic clinical practice scenario where OSA is assessed using an app running on a mobile device. Furthermore, clinical variables such as weight, height, age, and cervical perimeter, which are usually reported as predictors of OSA, were also gathered. Acoustic analysis is centered in sustained vowels. Facial analysis consists of a set of local craniofacial features related to OSA, which were extracted from images after detecting facial landmarks by using the active appearance models. To study the probable OSA connection with speech and craniofacial features, correlations among apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), clinical variables, and acoustic and facial measurements were analyzed. RESULTS The results obtained for female population indicate mainly weak correlations (r values between .20 and .39). Correlations between AHI, clinical variables, and speech features show the prevalence of formant frequencies over bandwidths, with F2/i/ being the most appropriate formant frequency for OSA prediction in women. Results obtained for male population indicate mainly very weak correlations (r values between .01 and .19). In this case, bandwidths prevail over formant frequencies. Correlations between AHI, clinical variables, and craniofacial measurements are very weak. CONCLUSIONS In accordance with previous studies, some clinical variables are found to be good predictors of OSA. Besides, strong correlations are found between AHI and some clinical variables with speech and facial features. Regarding speech feature, the results show the prevalence of formant frequency F2/i/ over the rest of features for the female population as OSA predictive feature. Although the correlation reported is weak, this study aims to find some traces that could explain the possible connection between OSA and speech in women. In the case of craniofacial measurements, results evidence that some features that can be used for predicting OSA in male patients are not suitable for testing female population.

Download Full-text

Speech Signal and Facial Image Processing for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Assessment

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine ◽

10.1155/2015/489761 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Fernando Espinoza-Cuadros ◽

Rubén Fernández-Pozo ◽

Doroteo T. Toledano ◽

José D. Alcázar-Ramírez ◽

Eduardo López-Gonzalo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽

Sleep Apnea ◽

Speech Processing ◽

Upper Airway ◽

Support Vector ◽

Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽

Active Appearance Models ◽

Obstructive Sleep ◽

Craniofacial Features ◽

Low Dimensional

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder characterized by recurring breathing pauses during sleep caused by a blockage of the upper airway (UA). OSA is generally diagnosed through a costly procedure requiring an overnight stay of the patient at the hospital. This has led to proposing less costly procedures based on the analysis of patients’ facial images and voice recordings to help in OSA detection and severity assessment. In this paper we investigate the use of both image and speech processing to estimate the apnea-hypopnea index, AHI (which describes the severity of the condition), over a population of 285 male Spanish subjects suspected to suffer from OSA and referred to a Sleep Disorders Unit. Photographs and voice recordings were collected in a supervised but not highly controlled way trying to test a scenario close to an OSA assessment application running on a mobile device (i.e., smartphones or tablets). Spectral information in speech utterances is modeled by a state-of-the-art low-dimensional acoustic representation, called i-vector. A set of local craniofacial features related to OSA are extracted from images after detecting facial landmarks using Active Appearance Models (AAMs). Support vector regression (SVR) is applied on facial features and i-vectors to estimate the AHI.

Download Full-text

Predictors of Patient-Reported Dysphagia and Reflux Symptoms in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2021_persp-21-00171 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Ankita M. Bhutada ◽

William A. Broughton ◽

Brenda L. Beverly ◽

Dahye Choi ◽

Sandip Barui ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽

Sleep Apnea ◽

Predictive Factors ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽

Reflux Symptom Index ◽

Clinical Variables ◽

Reflux Symptoms ◽

Obstructive Sleep ◽

Patient Reported

Purpose: Despite the reported high prevalence of dysphagia and reflux, patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are not routinely screened for dysphagia or reflux during conventional OSA management. The purpose of this exploratory study was to (a) identify prevalences of dysphagia and reflux self-reported symptoms in patients with OSA and (b) determine associations between dysphagia and reflux symptoms and demographic and clinical variables. Method: A chart review was completed on 75 patients with treated OSA during routine medical management at a university-affiliated sleep center. All participants completed the 10-Item Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) and Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) questionnaires, which are patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) of swallowing and reflux symptoms, respectively. Relevant demographic and clinical variables were extracted. A binary logistic regression was computed to examine the relationships between dysphagia and reflux PROMs and demographic and clinical variables. Result: Sixty-three participants met eligibility criteria ( M age = 64 years). In addition, 14% ( n = 9) and 11% ( n = 7) of patients with OSA syndrome reported swallowing and reflux symptoms, respectively. Among the demographic and clinical variables investigated, there were no significant predictive factors for EAT-10 scores. Age and apnea–hypopnea index were significant predictive factors for RSI scores. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first preliminary study to investigate swallowing and reflux symptoms concurrently in OSA, as well as potential mitigating factors. Although our findings suggest a relatively low percentage of patients with OSA report dysphagia and reflux symptoms, the true prevalences of swallowing and reflux disorders may be higher based on previous evidence suggesting that pharyngeal afferent (sensory) dysfunction may cause patients to underestimate their symptoms.

Download Full-text

Snoring Sound Intensity and Formant Frequencies by Sleep Position in Patients with Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Korean Journal of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery ◽

10.3342/kjorl-hns.2020.00094 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (7) ◽

pp. 308-313

Author(s):

Tae Kyung Koh ◽

Soon Bok Kwon ◽

Soo Kweon Koo ◽

Ho Byung Lee ◽

Chang Lok Ji ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽

Sleep Apnea ◽

Sound Intensity ◽

Sleep Position ◽

Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽

Common Symptom ◽

Upper Airways ◽

Formant Frequencies ◽

Obstructive Sleep ◽

Sleep Posture

Background and Objectives Snoring is the most common symptom of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and is caused by turbulent airflow due to narrowing of the upper airways. In patients with positional OSA, a change in sleep posture from supine to lateral is known to reduce snoring and sleep apnea. This study was performed to compare changes in snoring sound intensity and formant frequencies according to sleep position.Subjects and Method A total of 19 patients (male: 18; female: 1) diagnosed with positional OSA by polysomnography (PSG) were enrolled in this study. The snoring sounds recorded during PSG were analyzed acoustically and compared according to sleep position (i.e., supine vs. lateral).Results Snoring disappeared on changing sleep position in five patients, all of whom had Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) <15. In other patients, the snoring sounds tended to decrease with posture change, and the degree of decrease was inversely proportional to AHI (p=0.015) and respiratory disturbance index (RDI) (p=0.013). Formant frequencies 1, 3, and 4 (F1, F3, and F4, respectively) decreased when sleeping in the lateral position (p=0.02, 0.03, and 0.01, respectively).Conclusion In patients with positional OSA, a change in sleep posture from supine to lateral during sleep reduced the intensity and frequency of snoring sound.

Download Full-text

Formant Frequencies and Bandwidths in Relation to Clinical Variables in an Obstructive Sleep Apnea Population

Journal of Voice ◽

10.1016/j.jvoice.2015.01.006 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 21-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Ana Montero Benavides ◽

José Luis Blanco Murillo ◽

Rubén Fernández Pozo ◽

Fernando Espinoza Cuadros ◽

Doroteo Torre Toledano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽

Sleep Apnea ◽

Formant Frequencies ◽

Clinical Variables ◽

Obstructive Sleep

Download Full-text

Improvement in Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in Super Morbidly Obese Patients After Bariatric Surgery

Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand ◽

10.35755/jmedassocthai.2020.08.10650 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 103 (8) ◽

pp. 725-728

Keyword(s):

Bariatric Surgery ◽

Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽

Sleep Apnea ◽

Lifestyle Modification ◽

Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽

Morbidly Obese ◽

Obese Patients ◽

Obstructive Sleep ◽

Objective Evidence

Background: Lifestyle modification is the mainstay therapy for obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, most of these patients are unable to lose the necessary weight, and bariatric surgery (BS) has been proven to be an effective modality in selected cases. Objective: To provide objective evidence that BS can improve OSA severity. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted in super morbidly obese patients (body mass index [BMI] greater than 40 kg/m² or BMI greater than 35 kg/m² with uncontrolled comorbidities) scheduled for BS. Polysomnography (PSG) was performed for preoperative assessment and OSA was treated accordingly. After successful surgery, patients were invited to perform follow-up PSG at 3, 6, and 12 months. Results: Twenty-four patients with a mean age of 35.0±14.0 years were enrolled. After a mean follow-up period of 7.8±3.4 months, the mean BMI, Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) significantly decreased from 51.6±8.7 to 38.2±6.8 kg/m² (p<0.001), from 8.7±5.9 to 4.7±3.5 (p=0.003), and from 87.6±38.9 to 28.5±21.5 events/hour (p<0.001), respectively. Conclusion: BS was shown to dramatically improve clinical and sleep parameters in super morbidly obese patients. Keywords: Morbid obesity, Bariatric surgery, Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

Download Full-text

Aerodynamics Analysis of the Impact of Nasal Surgery on Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Nasal Obstruction

ORL ◽

10.1159/000516243 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Lifeng Li ◽

Demin Han ◽

Hongrui Zang ◽

Nyall R. London

Keyword(s):

Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽

Sleep Apnea ◽

Nasal Obstruction ◽

Upper Airway ◽

Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽

Nasal Surgery ◽

Subjective Sleep Quality ◽

Obstructive Sleep ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Impact

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of nasal surgery on airflow characteristics in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by comparing the alterations of airflow characteristics within the nasal and palatopharyngeal cavities. Methods: Thirty patients with OSA and nasal obstruction who underwent nasal surgery were enrolled. A pre- and postoperative 3-dimensional model was constructed, and alterations of airflow characteristics were assessed using the method of computational fluid dynamics. The other subjective and objective clinical indices were also assessed. Results: By comparison with the preoperative value, all postoperative subjective symptoms statistically improved (p < 0.05), while the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) changed little (p = 0.492); the postoperative airflow velocity and pressure in both nasal and palatopharyngeal cavities, nasal and palatopharyngeal pressure differences, and total upper airway resistance statistically decreased (all p < 0.01). A significant difference was derived for correlation between the alteration of simulation metrics with subjective improvements (p < 0.05), except with the AHI (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Nasal surgery can decrease the total resistance of the upper airway and increase the nasal airflow volume and subjective sleep quality in patients with OSA and nasal obstruction. The altered airflow characteristics might contribute to the postoperative reduction of pharyngeal collapse in a subset of OSA patients.

Download Full-text

High Plasma Cystine Levels Are Associated with Blood Pressure and Reversed by CPAP in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10071387 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 1387

Author(s):

Raphael Boneberg ◽

Anita Pardun ◽

Lena Hannemann ◽

Olaf Hildebrandt ◽

Ulrich Koehler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽

Sleep Apnea ◽

Mononuclear Cells ◽

Vascular Risk Factor ◽

High Plasma ◽

Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽

Hypoxic Stress ◽

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear ◽

Obstructive Sleep

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) independent of obesity (OBS) imposes severe cardiovascular risk. To what extent plasma cystine concentration (CySS), a novel pro-oxidative vascular risk factor, is increased in OSA with or without OBS is presently unknown. We therefore studied CySS together with the redox state and precursor amino acids of glutathione (GSH) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in untreated male patients with OSA (apnea-hypopnea-index (AHI) > 15 h−1, n = 28) compared to healthy male controls (n = 25) stratifying for BMI ≥ or < 30 kg m−2. Fifteen OSA patients were reassessed after 3–5-months CPAP. CySS correlated with cumulative time at an O2-saturation <90% (Tu90%) (r = 0.34, p < 0.05) beside BMI (r = 0.58, p < 0.001) and was higher in subjects with “hypoxic stress” (59.4 ± 2.0 vs. 50.1 ± 2.7 µM, p < 0.01) defined as Tu90% ≥ 15.2 min (corresponding to AHI ≥ 15 h−1). Moreover, CySS significantly correlated with systolic (r = 0.32, p < 0.05) and diastolic (r = 0.31, p < 0.05) blood pressure. CPAP significantly lowered CySS along with blood pressure at unchanged BMI. Unexpectedly, GSH antioxidant capacity in PBMC was increased with OSA and reversed with CPAP. Plasma CySS levels are increased with OSA-related hypoxic stress and associated with higher blood pressure. CPAP decreases both CySS and blood pressure. The role of CySS in OSA-related vascular endpoints and their prevention by CPAP warrants further studies.

Download Full-text

Altered K-complex morphology during sustained inspiratory airflow limitation is associated with next-day lapses in vigilance in obstructive sleep apnea

SLEEP ◽

10.1093/sleep/zsab010 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ankit Parekh ◽

Korey Kam ◽

Anna E Mullins ◽

Bresne Castillo ◽

Asem Berkalieva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽

Sleep Apnea ◽

Spectral Characteristics ◽

Sleep Time ◽

Airflow Limitation ◽

Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽

Complex Morphology ◽

Obstructive Sleep ◽

Inspiratory Airflow Limitation ◽

Psychomotor Vigilance

Abstract Study Objectives Determine if changes in K-complexes associated with sustained inspiratory airflow limitation (SIFL) during N2 sleep are associated with next-day vigilance and objective sleepiness. Methods Data from thirty subjects with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea who completed three in-lab polysomnograms: diagnostic, on therapeutic continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), and on suboptimal CPAP (4 cmH2O below optimal titrated CPAP level) were analyzed. Four 20-min psychomotor vigilance tests (PVT) were performed after each PSG, every 2 h. Changes in the proportion of spontaneous K-complexes and spectral characteristics surrounding K-complexes were evaluated for K-complexes associated with both delta (∆SWAK), alpha (∆αK) frequencies. Results Suboptimal CPAP induced SIFL (14.7 (20.9) vs 2.9 (9.2); %total sleep time, p < 0.001) with a small increase in apnea–hypopnea index (AHI3A: 6.5 (7.7) vs 1.9 (2.3); p < 0.01) versus optimal CPAP. K-complex density (num./min of stage N2) was higher on suboptimal CPAP (0.97 ± 0.7 vs 0.65±0.5, #/min, mean ± SD, p < 0.01) above and beyond the effect of age, sex, AHI3A, and duration of SIFL. A decrease in ∆SWAK with suboptimal CPAP was associated with increased PVT lapses and explained 17% of additional variance in PVT lapses. Within-night during suboptimal CPAP K-complexes appeared to alternate between promoting sleep and as arousal surrogates. Electroencephalographic changes were not associated with objective sleepiness. Conclusions Sustained inspiratory airflow limitation is associated with altered K-complex morphology including the increased occurrence of K-complexes with bursts of alpha as arousal surrogates. These findings suggest that sustained inspiratory flow limitation may be associated with nonvisible sleep fragmentation and contribute to increased lapses in vigilance.

Download Full-text

Machine learning for image-based detection of patients with obstructive sleep apnea: an exploratory study

Sleep And Breathing ◽

10.1007/s11325-021-02301-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Satoru Tsuiki ◽

Takuya Nagaoka ◽

Tatsuya Fukuda ◽

Yuki Sakamoto ◽

Fernanda R. Almeida ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neural Network ◽

Machine Learning ◽

Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽

Sleep Apnea ◽

Convolutional Neural Network ◽

Deep Convolutional Neural Network ◽

Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽

Cephalometric Analysis ◽

Obstructive Sleep ◽

Main Region

Abstract Purpose In 2-dimensional lateral cephalometric radiographs, patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) exhibit a more crowded oropharynx in comparison with non-OSA. We tested the hypothesis that machine learning, an application of artificial intelligence (AI), could be used to detect patients with severe OSA based on 2-dimensional images. Methods A deep convolutional neural network was developed (n = 1258; 90%) and tested (n = 131; 10%) using data from 1389 (100%) lateral cephalometric radiographs obtained from individuals diagnosed with severe OSA (n = 867; apnea hypopnea index > 30 events/h sleep) or non-OSA (n = 522; apnea hypopnea index < 5 events/h sleep) at a single center for sleep disorders. Three kinds of data sets were prepared by changing the area of interest using a single image: the original image without any modification (full image), an image containing a facial profile, upper airway, and craniofacial soft/hard tissues (main region), and an image containing part of the occipital region (head only). A radiologist also performed a conventional manual cephalometric analysis of the full image for comparison. Results The sensitivity/specificity was 0.87/0.82 for full image, 0.88/0.75 for main region, 0.71/0.63 for head only, and 0.54/0.80 for the manual analysis. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve was the highest for main region 0.92, for full image 0.89, for head only 0.70, and for manual cephalometric analysis 0.75. Conclusions A deep convolutional neural network identified individuals with severe OSA with high accuracy. Future research on this concept using AI and images can be further encouraged when discussing triage of OSA.

Download Full-text

Short-Term HRV Analysis Using Nonparametric Sample Entropy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Entropy ◽

10.3390/e23030267 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 267

Author(s):

Duan Liang ◽

Shan Wu ◽

Lan Tang ◽

Kaicheng Feng ◽

Guanzheng Liu

Keyword(s):

Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽

Sleep Apnea ◽

Sample Entropy ◽

Biomedical Signal Processing ◽

Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽

Short Term ◽

Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction ◽

Obstructive Sleep ◽

Hrv Analysis ◽

Frequency Power

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with reduced heart rate variability (HRV) and autonomic nervous system dysfunction. Sample entropy (SampEn) is commonly used for regularity analysis. However, it has limitations in processing short-term segments of HRV signals due to the extreme dependence of its functional parameters. We used the nonparametric sample entropy (NPSampEn) as a novel index for short-term HRV analysis in the case of OSA. The manuscript included 60 6-h electrocardiogram recordings (20 healthy, 14 mild-moderate OSA, and 26 severe OSA) from the PhysioNet database. The NPSampEn value was compared with the SampEn value and frequency domain indices. The empirical results showed that NPSampEn could better differentiate the three groups (p < 0.01) than the ratio of low frequency power to high frequency power (LF/HF) and SampEn. Moreover, NPSampEn (83.3%) approached a higher OSA screening accuracy than the LF/HF (73.3%) and SampEn (68.3%). Compared with SampEn (|r| = 0.602, p < 0.05), NPSampEn (|r| = 0.756, p < 0.05) had a significantly stronger association with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Hence, NPSampEn can fully overcome the influence of individual differences that are prevalent in biomedical signal processing, and might be useful in processing short-term segments of HRV signal.

Download Full-text