Relationship Between Rem Density, Duty Cycle, and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children

Abstract

NA MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: REM density and the duration of REM cycles increased over the course of the night until the fifth REM cycle, and then stabilized. The duty cycle increased across the first 6 REM cycles. However, the apnea hypopnea index (AHI) did not increase across REM cycles, and was not affected by the changes in REM density or duty cycle. We speculate that the increase in the duty cycle is a compensatory response to increased upper airway loads during sleep, and that this may lead to ventilatory or upper airway muscle fatigue.