Nighttime Hypoxemia Is Increased in Abstaining Chronic Alcoholic Men

Abstract

Previously we reported that abstaining chronic alcoholic men demonstrated significantly more nighttime hypoxemia than a control group. Here, we report a replication employing a larger sample of abstaining chronic alcoholics and a more appropriate control group than that used in the previous study. Forty-seven males, 48.4 .+-. 1.7 years of age (mean .+-. SEM), reporting 24.8 .+-. 1.5 years of heavy alcohol use, comprised the abstaining alcohol group. Thirty-five age- and weight-matched males, 50.3 .+-. 1.7 years were the control group. The alcohol group had significantly more nighttime oxygen desaturations below 90% than did the control group (16.9 .+-. 3.3 vs. 6.2 .+-. 1.4, F = 7.8, p < 0.01), with significantly higher percentages of individuals in the alcohol group manifesting more than 10 or 20 oxygen desaturations below 90%. Regression analyses within the alcohol group revealed that severity of alcohol abuse, but not age, body mass index, days abstinent, or smoking significantly predicted levels if nighttime hypoxemia. These results confirm our original observation of increased nighttime hypoxemia in abstaining chronic alcoholic men and suggest that long-term alcohol abuse may be a risk factor for development of sleep apnea.