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Oxygen saturation as a predictor of inflammation in obstructive sleep apnea

Sleep and Breathing volume 26, pages 1613–1620 (2022)Cite this article

Purpose

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic sleep disorder, and its prevalence is increasing worldwide. This disorder has been consistently associated with several comorbidities. Although it is clear that obstructive sleep apnea severity is associated with inflammation, the trigger for this phenomenon continues to puzzle scientists. Here, we investigated the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea severity and immune parameters.

Methods

In this cross-sectional epidemiological research, we analyzed the immune profile of 461 adults according to OSA severity (mild, moderate, and severe) and oxygen saturation.

Results

The hallmark of OSA severity — the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) — weakly correlated with an inflammatory profile. However, individuals who experienced lower oxygen saturation were more likely to exhibit higher total leukocyte and neutrophil counts, a higher neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and an increased concentration of C-reactive protein.

Conclusion

Our findings indicated that oxygen saturation is a predictor of inflammation during OSA and should be considered crucial in disease diagnostic and treatment strategies.

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Availability of data and material

The authors declare that all data and material described here is supported by the published claims and comply with field standards.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank AFIP and Instituto do Sono for allowing access to EPISONO data.

Funding

This work was supported by Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa (AFIP); Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP); and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Técnológico (CNPq).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia E Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP/EPM), Rua Botucatu, 862, 4° andar, Vila Clementino, São Paulo, Brazil

    Edgar Ruz Fernandes & Daniela Santoro Rosa

  2. Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP/EPM), São Paulo, Brazil

    Gabriel Natan Pires, Monica Levy Andersen & Sergio Tufik

  3. Institute for Investigation in Immunology (iii-INCT), São Paulo, Brazil

    Daniela Santoro Rosa

Authors
  1. Edgar Ruz Fernandes
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  2. Gabriel Natan Pires
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  3. Monica Levy Andersen
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  4. Sergio Tufik
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  5. Daniela Santoro Rosa
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Contributions

Design of the analysis was performed by Edgar Ruz Fernandes and Daniela Santoro Rosa; Data was analyzed by Edgar Ruz Fernandes and Gabriel Natan Pires; Manuscript writing was done by Edgar Ruz Fernandes; The access to EPISONO database was provided by Sergio Tufik and Monica Levy Andersen; all authors edited and corrected the paper.

All authors have seen and approved the manuscript submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniela Santoro Rosa.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

The procedures were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards and thereby approved by The Ethics Committee of Federal University of São Paulo (EPISONO study number 610514/14).

Consent to participate

All the participants read and signed an informed consent form.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interest.

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Supplementary Information

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Fernandes, E.R., Pires, G.N., Andersen, M.L. et al. Oxygen saturation as a predictor of inflammation in obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Breath 26, 1613–1620 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-021-02521-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-021-02521-x

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