Obstructive sleep apnea in REM and its clinical relevance

Apnea obstructiva del sueño en REM y su relevancia clínica

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Vol. 37 No. 1 (2025): Enero-Junio
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Severiche-Bueno DF, Bazurto Zapata MA. Obstructive sleep apnea in REM and its clinical relevance.
rev. colomb. neumol. [Internet]. 2025 Jan. 20 [cited 2025 Aug. 2];37(1):26-37. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.30789/rcneumologia.v37.n1.2025.758
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Diego Fernando Severiche-Bueno
Fundación Neumológica Colombiana image/svg+xml
Roles:  
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0976-3093
María Angelica Bazurto Zapata
Fundación Neumológica Colombiana image/svg+xml
Roles:  
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9563-0539
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Diego Fernando Severiche-Bueno,

Médico especialista en neumología y medicina interna

María Angelica Bazurto Zapata,

Médica especialista en neumología y medicina interna. Experta en medicina del sueño, jefe del Centro de Medicina del Sueño de La Fundación Neumológica Colombiana. Presidente de la Asociación Colombiana De Medicina Del Sueño (ACMES) 2021-2023

Introduction. Sleep apnea in REM is an entity that occurs in a subgroup of patients with obstructive sleep apnea, which has generated interest in recent years.  Although it is a condition that has been described for several years, it is only now that its differences concerning obstructive sleep apnea have begun to be investigated.  This is how we have sought to establish the function of REM sleep and determine its associations with relevant clinical scenarios in daily practice, such as daytime sleepiness and cardiovascular disease. This article reviews the importance of REM sleep and describes the available evidence regarding REM sleep apnea and its association with daytime sleepiness, systemic arterial hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. 

Materials and methods. A narrative literature review was conducted to explore the available information on OSA in REM. The search for studies lasted until May 2023 and was carried out in the Medline and Embase databases.

Results. The review highlights the importance and physiology of REM sleep, epidemiology of OSA in REM; sleep apnea in REM and daytime sleepiness; sleep apnea in REM and systemic arterial hypertension; sleep apnea in REM and cardiovascular disease and the clinical impact of patients with mild OSA, since they are not considered for CPAP treatment. 

Conclusions. In Colombia, no studies compare OSA in REM and NREM regarding daytime sleepiness, arterial hypertension, ischemic heart disease, or cerebrovascular disease. In addition, none of the earlier studies have been conducted in high-altitude populations. This presents an opportunity to advance research on this condition and improve the clinical management of these patients.

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