RESEARCH ARTICLE
Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Metabolic Syndrome in Spanish Population
Bienvenido Barreiro*, 1, Luis Garcia2, Lourdes Lozano1, Pere Almagro3, Salvador Quintana1, Monserrat Alsina4 , Jose Luis Heredia1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2013Volume: 7
First Page: 71
Last Page: 76
Publisher ID: TORMJ-7-71
DOI: 10.2174/1874306401307010071
Article History:
Received Date: 4/9/2013Revision Received Date: 13/9/2013
Acceptance Date: 13/9/2013
Electronic publication date: 18/10/2013
Collection year: 2013

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a clinical picture characterized by repeated episodes of obstruction of the upper airway. OSA is associated with cardiovascular risk factors, some of which are components of metabolic syndrome (MS).
Objectives:
First, determine the prevalence of MS in patients with OSA visited in sleep clinic. Second, evaluate whether there is an independent association between MS components and the severity of OSA.
Methods:
Patients with clinical suspicion of OSA were evaluated by polysomnography. Three groups were defined according to apnea hypoapnea index (AHI): no OSA (AHI <5), mild-moderate (AHI≥ 5 ≤30), and severe (AHI> 30). All patients were determined in fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin. MS was defined according to criteria of National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP).
Results:
A total of 141 patients (mean age 54 ± 11 years) were evaluated. According to AIH, 25 subjects had no OSA and 116 had OSA (41mild-moderate and 75 severe). MS prevalence ranged from 43-81% in OSA group. Also, a significant increase in waist circumference, triglycerides, glucose, blood pressure levels, and a decrease in HDL cholesterol levels was observed in more severe OSA patients. All polysomnographic parameters correlated significantly with metabolic abnormalities. After a multiple regression analysis, abdominal obesity (p <0.02), glucose (p <0.01) and HDL cholesterol (p <0.001) were independently associated with OSA.
Conclusions:
Our findings show high prevalence of MS in OSA, especially in severe group. A significant association between OSA and some of the components of MS was found in Spanish population.