RheumatologyAdvisor: Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) do not have a higher prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) compared with matched control participants, according to study results published in Clinical Rheumatology.
The researchers sought to explore the prevalence of OSA in patients with AS vs control participants, and to evaluate whether disease- and nondisease-related factors were associated with the development of OSA among patients with AS.
Spinal radiographic alterations were scored based on the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spinal Score (mSASSS). Additional assessments included the Bath Ankylosing Disease Spondylitis Activity Index (BASDAI), the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score with C-reactive protein (ASDAS-CRP), the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI), and the presence of metabolic syndrome. Chest expansion was measured at the fourth intercostal level. High-sensitivity CRP, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and blood lipid levels were measured as well.
