Sex-Stratified Analysis of Airway Collapsibility Among Individuals Undergoing Chronic Opioid Therapy

Abstract

Opioids, known for suppressing respiration and reducing upper airway dilator muscle activity, contribute to increased risk of airway collapsibility and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This study addresses the existing gap in understanding the sex-specific impact of opioids therapy on airway dynamics during sleep, investigating differences in airway collapsibility among sexes. To address this goal, sleep studies of 44 participants on chronic opioids therapy who had OSA were analyzed. Airway collapsibility was estimated based on the ratio of obstructive apneas and hypopneas. Our results showed that while the severity of OSA was significantly higher in men than women during total sleep time and non-rapid eye movement sleep stage, the airway collapsibility was not statistically different. Moreover, we observed that there is an interaction effect between body mass index and sex as well as opioids dosage in modeling the airway collapsibility.