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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder worldwide; however, epidemiological studies on its prevalence lack in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of OSA in Saudi Arabia. The study was performed from 2013 to 2015 in two stages. The screening stage was first; a random sample of Saudi employees ( = 2682) 30-60 years of age completed a survey that included the Wisconsin questionnaire. According to these data, the subjects were categorized as habitual, moderate, or nonsnorers (NSs). The confirmatory second stage was a case-control study conducted on 346 individuals selected from each group using polysomnography (PSG). In the first stage, the prevalence of habitual snoring was 23.5%, moderate snoring was16.6%, while 59.9% of the sample was NSs. Among the 346 individuals who underwent PSG, a total of 235 (67.9%) subjects had OSA with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of ≥5; 76 (22.0%) had OSA syndrome (OSAS), defined by an AHI of ≥5 plus daytime sleepiness; and 227 (65.6%) had clinically diagnosed OSA syndrome (COSAS), as defined by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. A conservative estimate of at least 8.8% (12.8% in men and 5.1% in women) was calculated for the overall prevalence of OSA. Similarly, the overall estimated prevalence of OSAS and COSAS was 2.8% (4.0% in men and 1.8% in women) and 8.5% (12.4% in men and 4.8% in women), respectively. A multivariate analysis revealed age, gender, obesity, and hypertension as independent risk factors of OSA. Our study demonstrated that the rate and risk factors of OSA in the Saudi population are similar to those observed in Western studies.

BACKGROUND The causes of the worldwide increases in asthma and allergic diseases in childhood, which seem to relate to increasing prosperity, are unknown. We have previously hypothesised that a reduction in the antioxidant component of the diet is an important factor. An investigation was undertaken of dietary and other risk factors for asthma in Saudi Arabia where major lifestyle differences and prevalences of allergic disease are found in different communities. METHODS From a cross sectional study of 1444 children with a mean age of 12 (SD 1) years in Jeddah and a group of rural Saudi villages, we selected 114 cases with a history of asthma and wheeze in the last 12 months and 202 controls who had never complained of wheeze or asthma, as recorded on the ISAAC questionnaire. Risk factors for asthma and allergies (family history, social class, infections, immunisations, family size, and diet) were ascertained by questionnaire. Atopy was assessed by skin prick testing. RESULTS In univariate analyses, family history, atopy, and eating at fast food outlets were significant risk factors for wheezy illness, as were the lowest intakes of milk and vegetables and of fibre, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. These differences were present also in the urban children considered separately. Sex, family size, social class, infections, and parental smoking showed no relationship to risk. In multiple logistic regression analysis, urban residence, positive skin tests, family history of allergic disease, and the lowest intakes of vitamin E, magnesium and sodium related significantly and independently to risk. The lowest tertile of intake of vitamin E was associated with a threefold (95% CI 1.38 to 6.50) increase in risk when adjusted for the other factors. Intake of milk and vegetables both showed inverse linear relationships to being a case. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that dietary factors during childhood are an important influence in determining the expression of wheezy illness, after allowing for urban/rural residence, sex, family history, and atopy. The findings are consistent with previous studies in adults and with the hypothesis that change in diet has been a determinant of the worldwide increases in asthma and allergies.