Study of the Effects of Sleep Apnea Syndrome on the Paraclinical Parameters of Balance Exploration

Aim: To evaluate the impact of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS) on posturographic parameters. Objective: The primary objective was to evaluate whether the mean gain of the Visually Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex VVOR), the parameter most likely to be modified in case of central damage, decreased in patients diagnosed with OSAHS. The secondary objective was to verify if the other parameters of videonystagmography and posturography varied according to the presence or not of OSAHS. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of posturographic parameters of patients previously tested by polygraphy (whether or not they had OSAHS). Results: In the 66 patients included, the mean VVOR gains did not differ significantly between the "no OSAHS" vs. "OSAHS" groups (respectively 0.88 vs. 0.71, p = 0.1224). None of the other parameters measured, such as the mean caloric deficits, the mean weights of vestibular, visual and somesthetic afferents measured by posturography, the mean gains of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, and the frequency of falls on the posturograph, had a statistically different distribution according to the presence or absence of OSAHS. Conclusion: We did not show any significant difference in posturographic parameters according to the presence or absence of OSAHS, in particular the absence of vestibular and/or central involvement.