The Relationship between High Risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and General and Central Obesity: Findings from a Sample of Chilean College Students
Table 1
Characteristics of 916 college students in Chile, according to OSA risk.
Characteristic
Overall ()
OSA risk
valuec
Low ()
High ()
Demographic characteristics
Age, year, mean (SD)
21.8 (3.3)
21.7 (3.3)
22.5 (3.4)
0.0425
Male, %
30.5
30.0
36.6
0.2429
Education (year in college), %
First year
37.3
37.4
35.7
0.4826
Second year
30.7
30.5
34.3
Third year
18.5
19.0
12.9
Fourth+ year
13.4
13.1
17.4
Lifestyle factors
Any physical activity participation, %
53.9
55.5
52.1
0.5811
Alcohol consumption (past year), %
80.3
80.0
85.1
0.3105
Smoking status, %
Nonsmoker
42.7
44.2
24.6
0.0051
Current
42.4
40.9
60.0
Former
14.9
14.9
15.4
Use of >1 energy drinks per week, %
54.3
53.8
60.6
0.2866
Self-rated health and blood pressure
Self-rated healtha (poor), %
12.1
11.4
22.2
0.0183
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)
121.5 (14.4)
121.3 (14.3)
124.6 (15.6)
0.0642
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)
74.2 (11.7)
74.0 (11.8)
76.5 (10.8)
0.0932
Anthropometric measurements
BMI, kg/m2, mean (SD)
24.9 (4.5)
24.6 (4.2)
28.6 (6.0)
<0.0001
WHO criteria of overweight and obesity (kg/m2), %
Underweight (BMI <18.5)
1.5
1.7
0.0
<0.0001
Normal weight (18.51–24.9)
57.4
59.4
33.8
Overweight (BMI: 25–29)
28.3
29.0
19.7
Obese (BMI ≥30)
12.8
9.9
46.5
Central obesityb, %
42.7
40.5
69.0
<0.0001
Waist circumference, cm, mean (SD)
81.9 (11.9)
81.1 (11.4)
91.0 (13.9)
<0.0001
Hip circumference, cm, mean (SD)
97.9 (10.0)
97.3 (9.7)
104.6 (11.0)
<0.0001
Waist-to-hip ratio, mean (SD)
0.84 (0.08)
0.83 (0.08)
0.87 (0.9)
0.0007
Waist-to-hip ratio, top quartile (WHR ≥ 0.8875), %
24.9
23.8
36.6
0.0162
SD: standard deviation; PA: physical activity; BP: blood pressure; BMI: body mass index.
aSelf-rated health (SRH) was evaluated by asking, “how would you say your health compares to others your age.” Poor SRH = worse than others my age. Good SRH = better or same as others my age.
bBased on the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria for the definition of central obesity among South Americans: waist circumference ≥90 cm for men; waist circumference ≥80 cm for women.
cStudent -test for continuous variables; chi-square for categorical variables.
