Correction: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment Reduces Mortality in Elderly Patients with Moderate to Severe Obstructive Severe Sleep Apnea: A Cohort Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127775.].

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment Reduces Mortality in Elderly Patients with Moderate to Severe Obstructive Severe Sleep Apnea: A Cohort Study.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is much more prevalent in older people than in middle-aged or young populations, and has been associated with cardiovascular disease. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the first-line therapy for OSA, but its long-term clinical benefit in the elderly is unclear. Here, we carried out a prospective cohort study to explore the survival rate and incidence of cardiovascular events in elderly patients with moderate to severe OSA who did or did not receive CPAP treatment. The study included 130 patients (104 male, 26 female; mean age: 77.8 ± 6.2 years) who were followed up for a mean of 5 ± 2.54 years (range, 1-8 years). Thirty-six patients received CPAP and 88 had no CPAP. The results showed that mortality in the untreated group (21.6%) was significantly higher than in the CPAP group (5.6%). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the survival rate in the CPAP group was 94.4%, which was markedly higher than the rate of 78.4% in the untreated group. The incidence of cardiovascular events was 13.9% in the CPAP group and 55.7% in the untreated group. The present study provides evidence that CPAP can reduce mortality in older patients with moderate to severe OSA, and lead to a good long-term prognosis. The study also indicates that death in older OSA patients is associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

[Investigation on long-term efficacy of CPAP treatment for the elderly with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the long-term efficacy of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment for the elderly with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). METHODS: Case control study was performed among 106 elderly with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). They were divided into treatment group (n=34) and control group (n=72), based on whether they underwent long-term CPAP treatment or not. The long-term efficacy of CPAP treatment was evaluated by long-term clinical observation. RESULTS: The incidence of cardiovascular events was 12% (4/34) in treatment group and 47% (34/72) in control group (P<0.01). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that after controlling the factors of age, sex, body mass index, apnea hypopnea index and previous diseases, failing to receive CPAP treatment was the independent risk factor for cardiovascular events (chi2=17.0, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: CPAP treatment for moderate-severe OSAS could reduce cardiovascular and neurovascular events risk for elderly patients with OSAS.