Association between severity of obstructive sleep apnea and ambulatory arterial stiffness index in a Chinese population.
TL;DR
There was a correlation between OSAHS severity and the AASI, and the degree of arteriosclerosis in OSAHS patients increased with an increase in the AHI, although age and hypoxic burden were the primary drivers of arterial stiffness.
Abstract
Background
The purpose of the current study was to determine the correlation between the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).
Methods
A total of 201 patients with OSAHS admitted to Zhongshan Hospital (Xiamen), Fudan University from January 2021 to October 2023 were selected and divided into two groups based on the AHI (mild-to-moderate and severe groups). All patients completed the general data collection, portable sleep monitoring, and dynamic blood pressure monitoring. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the general clinical characteristics between groups with OSAHS of different severity. Correlation analysis was used to compare the correlation between AASI and portable sleep monitoring parameters. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the correlation between AASI and portable sleep monitoring parameters.
Results
Patients with severe OSAHS exhibited significantly higher BMI, uric acid levels, and AASI compared with the mild-to-moderate group (P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age, AHI, and the percentage of total time with oxygen saturation level less than 90% (T90) were independently and positively associated with AASI (P < 0.05), while the estimated glomerular filtration rate showed a negative association. Notably, age and the degree of nocturnal hypoxemia (T90) showed a more clinically significant association with arterial stiffness than AHI.
Conclusion
There was a correlation between OSAHS severity and the AASI, and the degree of arteriosclerosis in OSAHS patients increased with an increase in the AHI, although age and hypoxic burden were the primary drivers of arterial stiffness.