Hormonal status and the orexin system in obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Abstract

The aim of research was to estimate the influence of hormone metabolism and sleep apnea on patients with obesity. 76 patients (37 males and 39 females) with obesity were included in this study. After night polysomnography all patients were divided in two groups comparableby age, sex ratio and BMI. The first group consisted of 41 patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), the second (controls) – 35 patients without breath disorders during sleep. OSAS is accompanied by the increase in urinary cortisol during the night, high levels ofbasal insulin, disturbances of hepatic production of IGF-1, dysfunction of the pituitary-gonadal axis. Our results show that sleep-related breathing disorders render markedly and negatively affect on hormonal parameters of patients with obesity. As a reliable difference of basalsecretion of orexin A in obese patients with and without OSAS was not revealed (42,0 [14; 99,5] vs. 18,0 [14,5; 124,5] pg/ml; р=0,9), we were not able to show the existence that the existence of OSAS is followed by any special changes of activity of the orexin system.

Keywords

• obesity
• hormones
• obstructive sleep apnea