Effects of exercise and a lifestyle app on sleep disordered breathing, physical health and quality of life.

Background: Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is a growing public health problem, and noninvasive treatments may be a valid option. The objective of this randomised controlled trial was to assess the effects of a 12-week exercise programme and a lifestyle app on SDB severity, physical health (anthropometry, body composition, physical fitness) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in 18- to 50-year-old adults with mild-to-moderate SDB.

Methods: 192 participants (age 37.4±6.3 years, body mass index (BMI) 33.3±4.2 kg·m, 52.6% males) with mild-to-moderate SDB (apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥5<30.0, objective snore ≥10%) were randomised into: exercise (three times/week, 60 min), app and control groups. The assessments included a 3-night self-applied polysomnography, anthropometry, body composition, physical fitness and HRQoL. Repeated ANOVA, Wilcoxon signed-rank and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to evaluate the changes.

Results: Time effect was observed in AHI (F=6.290, p=0.014), neck circumference (=5.253, p=0.024), hand dynamometry (F=7.102, p=0.009), and 6-min walking test (F=8.340, p=0.005). Group × time interactions were observed in weight (F=9.318, p≤0.001), BMI (F=9.302, p≤0.001), body fat percentage (F=4.756, p=0.01), body fat mass (F=5.916, p=0.004) and skeletal muscle mass (F=9.380, p≤0.001). Intragroup changes were observed in physical functioning, vitality and general health in both the exercise and app groups, in addition to role limitations due to physical health in the exercise group.

Conclusions: The 12-week exercise programme reduced AHI and increased skeletal muscle mass, physical fitness and HRQoL in four domains. The lifestyle app programme reduced weight, BMI, neck circumference, body fat, visceral adiposity and skeletal muscle mass while increased three HRQoL domains in participants with mild-to-moderate SDB.