A biphasic effect of age on CPAP adherence: a cross-sectional study of 26,343 patients

BACKGROUND: As the prevalence of OSA increases in older patients, the proportion of elderly patients treated with CPAP is expected to become even higher. We studied CPAP-adherence in a real-life cohort involving a large population of elderly patients with OSA. METHODS: eQUALISAS is a cross-sectional study of CPAP treated OSA patients for at least 4 months who received remote monitoring during 2021. CPAP adherence, device-reported residual AHI (AHI(CPAP)) and 95th percentile non-intentional leaks were software collected during January 2021. Age and sex were also collected. RESULTS: Data from 26,343 patients including 1656 patients aged [80–85] years and 639 patients aged ≥ 85 years were analysed. Median CPAP adherence increases from 6.3 h (< 50 years) to 7 h (75–80 years) and decreases after this age (p < 0.001). The decrease in CPAP adherence observed after the age of 80 was associated with an increase in the proportion of patients with a CPAP-adherence < 4 h/day (p < 0.001). Proportion of CPAP treated female, patients having AHI(CPAP) mean ≥ 10 events per hour or 95th percentile non-intentional leaks mean over 24 l/min increase with aging of the population. However, for patients over 80 years old, Chi square test showed no association of adherence with gender, AHI(CPAP) and leaks (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that adherence gradually increases with age until 80 years. The proportion of non-adherent patients grows with age after 80 years old. No significative relationship was found between adherence after 80 years old and gender, leaks and AHI(CPAP). Trial registration: The study is registered on Health Data Hub platform (No. F20220715144543).