Association of metabolic syndrome in obstructive sleep apnea patients: An experience from zonal tertiary care hospital in Eastern India

Abstract

Introduction: Even in a tertiary health-care setting, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients often remain underdiagnosed. OSA and metabolic syndrome (MS) share many essential cardiovascular risk factors, including obesity, hypertension, and insulin resistance. Despite numerous studies, the relationship between OSA and MS still remains debatable. Aim: The purpose of our study was to see how frequently MS occurred in OSA patients and also if the presence of MS had any correlation with age, sex, or severity of OSA. Methodology: This cross-sectional study included 50 OSA patients being evaluated on outpatient department basis. All the patients were screened with detailed history; examination; hematological, biochemical parameters; and polysomnography. Results: In this study, out of 50 OSA patients, 41 were male and 9 were female; with age, body mass index (BMI), Apnea–Hypopnea Index (AHI), neck circumference, and waist circumference having mean of 42.5 years, 27.028 kg/m2, 33.49/h, 39.7 cm, and 37.23 inch, respectively. Out of 28 obese patients, 22 had AHI >30 and 6 had AHI <30. 31 (62%) OSA patients were found to have MS, of which 27 were male and 4 were female. Pearson's bivariate correlation has also shown statistically significant association between AHI score and BMI value (P = 0.01). Conclusion: Our study has shown a positive association between OSA and MS and OSA may represent an important risk factor for development of MS. Therefore, it is prudent for clinicians to systematically evaluate the presence of metabolic abnormalities in OSA patients and vice versa.

Keywords

• insulin resistance
• metabolic syndrome
• obstructive sleep apnea
• polysomnography
• syndrome z