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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2022; 15(S 01): 20-27
DOI: 10.5935/1984-0063.20200117
ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Pro-inflammatory markers in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and the effect of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure therapy

Jamil Al-Mughales
1   King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Diagnostic Immunology Division, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine - Jeddah - Jeddah - Saudi Arabia.
2   Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology Immunology Division - Jeddah - Jeddah - Saudi Arabia.
,
Siraj Omar Wali
3   King Abdulaziz University, Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Sleep Medicine Research Group, Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine - Jeddah - Jeddah - Saudi Arabia.
,
Md. Dilshad Manzar
4   Majmaah University, Department of Nursing, College of Applied Medical Sciences - Majmaah - Majmaah - Saudi Arabia.
,
Faris Alhejaili
3   King Abdulaziz University, Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Sleep Medicine Research Group, Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine - Jeddah - Jeddah - Saudi Arabia.
,
David Gozal
5   The University of Missouri School of Medicine, Department of Child Health and the Child Health Research Institute - Columbia - Columbia - United States.
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Objectives To evaluate the association of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen levels and to assess the effect of short-term therapy using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).

Material and Methods A prospective, open-label, controlled trial was conducted among clinically referred patients at risk for OSA undergoing diagnostic polysomnography (PSG). After PSG, the patients were divided into 3 groups: OSA treatment group (TG) (n=21), untreated OSA group (UOG) (n=19), and non-OSA healthy control group (HCG) (n=24). CRP and fibrinogen levels were measured at baseline and one month after treatment. Repeated-measures (RM) ANOVA and ANCOVA were used to compare changes in CRP and fibrinogen levels among the three groups by analyzing between-subject and within-subject effects as functions of time and adjusting for significant covariates.

Results At baseline, OSA subjects had significantly higher CRP [t(52.37)=-2.46, p=0.02)] and fibrinogen levels [t(57)=-2.00, p=0.05)] than HCG subjects. No significant differences in CRP levels [(F(2,58)=2.29, p=0.11)] or fibrinogen levels [(F(2, 58)=1.28, p=0.29)] emerged between TG and HCG subjects after adjusting for the pretest levels.

Conclusion CPAP therapy for one month does not affect CRP and fibrinogen levels among moderate-to-severe OSA patients. However, OSA is associated with elevated levels of these inflammatory biomarkers.

Inflammation - Sleep Apnea Syndromes - C-Reactive Protein - Fibrinogen

FUNDING

This project was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia under grant No. (KEP-2-140-39). The authors, therefore, acknowledge and appreciate the DSR for their technical and financial support.




Publication History

Received: 12 November 2020

Accepted: 01 March 2021

Article published online:
01 December 2023

© 2023. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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