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Inflammation markers in moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea: the influence of sex

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most prevalent sleep-related breathing disorder, with a negative impact on cardiovascular health. Different OSA symptoms and treatment response in males and females have been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate inflammatory markers in patients with OSA and the relationship of those markers to disease severity in male and female subjects.

Methods

We considered consecutive subjects referred to the outpatient Sleep Disorder Service of the Respiratory Medicine Department, San Marino Hospital. We included patients with a diagnosis of moderate or severe OSAS and an age range of 45–80 years. Concomitant inflammatory conditions were an exclusion criterion. A polygraphic study and a blood draw for inflammatory markers were performed for each subject.

Results

Of 110 subjects, 59 were males. Severe OSA affected 72 subjects. We analyzed data through a 4-level categorical variable according to sex and OSA severity (moderate OSA, males; severe OSA, males; moderate OSA, females; severe OSA, females), which showed significant differences for interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. A significant difference in IL-6 levels with a significant ascending trend (p = 0.045) from females with moderate OSAS to males with severe OSAS emerged in our pairwise comparison for estimated marginal means. Also, a significant trend (p = 0.0001) for CRP levels from males with moderate OSAS to females with severe OSAS was shown.

Conclusions

OSA and inflammation are interconnected, and both are associated with vascular diseases. Sex-related differences in OSA phenotypes may help the clinicians aim for a more personalized approach.

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Data availability

All data are available upon request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurological Clinic, Marche Polytechnic University, Via Conca 71, Ancona, 60020, Italy

    Chiara Rocchi, Serena Broggi, Simona Lattanzi, Mauro Silvestrini & Laura Buratti

  2. Department of Respiratory Medicine, San Marino Hospital, San Marino, San Marino

    Conti Valentina

  3. Neurological Clinic, Ospedali Riuniti Ancona, Ancona, Italy

    Viviana Totaro & Giovanna Viticchi

  4. Internal and Subintensive Medicine, Ospedali Riuniti Ancona, Ancona, Italy

    Lorenzo Falsetti

Authors
  1. Chiara Rocchi
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  2. Conti Valentina
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  3. Viviana Totaro
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  4. Serena Broggi
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  5. Simona Lattanzi
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  6. Giovanna Viticchi
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  7. Lorenzo Falsetti
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  8. Mauro Silvestrini
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  9. Laura Buratti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chiara Rocchi.

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Ethics approval

The study conforms to the Declaration of Helsinki and later amendments and was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Marche Polytechnic University.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Patients signed informed consent regarding publishing their data.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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The paper was presented as an “Abstract only” at XXV World Congress of Neurology, October 3–7, 2021, Virtual.

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Rocchi, C., Valentina, C., Totaro, V. et al. Inflammation markers in moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea: the influence of sex. Sleep Breath 26, 1703–1709 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-021-02537-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-021-02537-3

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