Ocular pathology associated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the ophthalmological findings in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Methods: The study group was made up of 65 patients with OSAS diagnosis and the findings were compared with the ones of the control group (n=39), which comprised patients without OSAS. An observational, analytic study, with a transversal component and a prospective component, was performed. Results: The IOP (intraocular pressure) was similar in both groups (p=0,9786). In the OSAS group, IOP increased with a higher AHI (apnea/ hypopnea index), but not significantly (p=0,057). Similarly, there was no correlation between a higher AHI and the lacrimal secretion in the OSAS group (p=0,3282). However, when we compared control with OSAS patients, we found a significantly higher degree of lacrimal hyposecretion in the latter (p=0,0003). CPAP treatment had no effect on IOP, as initial and final medium IOP were 15.06 and 14.89 respectively (p=0,8327). Regarding lacrimal secretion, it seems that CPAP treatment had an improving effect, as tear production rose from a 9.25 mm medium to 10.45 mm on the Schirmer I test (p=0,0118). Conclusions: Overall, OSAS patients showed similar IOP and glaucoma prevalence as the normal population. However, they had an abnormal tear secretion and a higher prevalence of eyelid laxity (a sign of floppy eyelid syndrome). Abbreviations: OSAS/ SASO = obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, AHI = apnea/ hypopnea index, CPAP = continuous positive airway pressure, FES = floppy eyelid syndrome, TSch/ TSCH = Schirmer test, IOP = intra-ocular pressure, PSG = polysomnography