Association between physical activity and sleep-disordered breathing in male Japanese workers: a cross-sectional study.
BACKGROUND
Whether physical activity reduces the risk of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) for non-obese people remains unclear. The present cross-sectional study examined the association between physical activity and SDB among non-obese male Japanese workers.


METHODS
All 200 workers in a company in Tokyo, Japan, who drove a motor vehicle as part of their job, were invited to be screened for SDB to prevent traffic accidents. Of these, 195 agreed to participate in this study. The number of apnea and hypopnea episodes occurring during one night was measured using a single-channel airflow monitor to obtain an individual respiratory disturbance index (RDI). SDB was defined as RDI ≥15 apneas/hypopneas/h. Non-obese males (body mass index <30 kg/m2) were included in the analysis. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to calculate crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for SDB by physical activity level tertile, as measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.


RESULTS
The prevalence of SDB was 26.9%. The unadjusted analysis showed a significant inverse association between physical activity and SDB: crude ORs for the tertiles of physical activity were 1.00 (low), 1.58 (middle), and 0.27 (high) (95% CI 0.08-0.88; P for trend = 0.007). However, this association was attenuated after adjusting for covariates: Adjusted ORs were 1.00 (low), 1.65 (middle), and 0.41 (high) (95% CI 0.10-1.61; P for trend = 0.11).


CONCLUSIONS
In a cross-sectional study among non-obese male workers in Japan, we found no significant association between physical activity and SDB.
['Itoh|Hiroaki|H|', 'Yokoyama|Kazuhito|K|', 'Matsukawa|Takehisa|T|', 'Kitamura|Fumihiko|F|']
D000328:Adult D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D015444:Exercise D006801:Humans D007564:Japan D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D016272:Occupational Health D016017:Odds Ratio D015995:Prevalence D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Physical activity Epidemiology Physical exercise Sleep apnea