• Selma Firat Guven, Mustafa Hamidullah Turkkani, Bulent Ciftci, Tansu Ulukavak Ciftci, and Yurdanur Erdogan.
• Sleep Disorders Center, Atatürk Chest Diseases, Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. selmafiratguven@yahoo.com
• Sleep Breath. 2012 Mar 1; 16 (1): 217-21.

Background And ObjectiveThere is an increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a marker that predicts atherosclerotic complications. However, there are contradictory results about the correlation between serum hs-CRP levels and OSA severity. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the relationship between hs-CRP levels and the severity of OSA in newly diagnosed OSA patients.MethodsThe study group was composed of 76 patients with clinical suspicion of OSA. Subjects with body mass indexes (BMI) ≥30 kg/m(2) were classified as obese. Full-night polysomnography (PSG) was performed on all patients. Patients with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥5 were considered to have OSA, and patients with an AHI <5 were accepted as the control group. Blood samples were taken from all patients to analyze serum hs-CRP levels the morning after PSG.ResultsThe serum hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in the OSA group (4.03 ± 3.58 mg/L) than in the control group (2.41 ± 1.95 mg/L) (p = 0.013). This high level was positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.376, p = 0.001) and with AHI (r = 0.280, p = 0.014). In multiple regression analysis, elevated hs-CRP levels were associated with AHI (F = 3.293, p = 0.033), which was independent of obesity.ConclusionsPatients with OSA have elevated serum levels of hs-CRP, a marker for inflammation and an independent risk predictor for cardiovascular morbidity. The severity of OSA is responsible for the elevation of hs-CRP.

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