HIGH RISK OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA MAGNITUDE AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS AMONG PRE-OPERATIVE PATIENTS AT ST. PAUL HOSPITAL MILLENNIUM MEDICAL COLLEGE

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic condition involving repetitive episodes of complete or partial upper airway collapse during sleep. Though OSA is a prevalent disorder, it is still underdiagnosed. STOP-Bang questionnaire is a simple clinical tool used to assess the risk of OSA. Data on the prevalence of OSA in Ethiopia is lacking, therefore; this study aimed to assess the magnitude of high risk OSA and associated factors among preoperative patients in Saint Paul hospital millennium medical college. Methods: an institution based cross sectional study was conducted involving 420 randomly selected preoperative patients in Saint Paul hospital millennium medical college between October 1 2025 and January 31 2026. Systematic random sampling technique was deployed to select study participants. The collected data were subsequently exported to SPSS version 26.0 for comprehensive analysis. Categorical variables were assessed by computing frequency and proportions. To identify factors associated with high risk OSA, binary logistic regression was employed. The adjusted odds ratios, accompanied by a 95% confidence interval, were computed to interpret the results effectively. A p-value of less than 0.05 was deemed statistically significant for the purposes of this study. Result: The magnitude of high risk obstructive sleep apnea, in this study, is reported to be 15.4 %( 95% CI; 12.1 – 19.3). Patients with a family history of OSA, shorter thyromental distance, smoking and lack of exercise were found to be significantly associated to high risk OSA. Conclusion and recommendation: The magnitude of OSA in this study is low compared to similar studies. However, there are some important factors associated to high risk of OSA which needs to be addressed. A larger multi-center prospective study is also recommended to better assess the magnitude of obstructive sleep apnea in Ethiopia. Key words: OSA risk, magnitude, Saint Paul hospital, pre-operative