• Wei-Te Wu, Su-Shan Tsai, Tung-Sheng Shih, Ming-Hsiu Lin, Tzu-Chieh Chou, Hua Ting, Trong-Neng Wu, and Saou-Hsing Liou.
• Division of Environmental Health and Occupational Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, 35 Keyan Road, Zhunan Town, Miaoli County, 35053, Taiwan, Republic of China.
• Sleep Breath. 2015 Dec 1; 19 (4): 1449-57.

BackgroundIt is unclear whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is independently associated with increased levels of the acute-phase reactant C-reactive protein (CRP). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between OSA and high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) levels according to the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome (MetS).MethodsThis study recruited 245 male bus drivers from one transportation company in Taiwan. Each participant was evaluated by a polysomnography (PSG) test, blood lipids examination, and hs-CRP. Severity of OSA was categorized according to the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI).ResultsSubjects were categorized into severe OSA group (n = 44; 17.9 %), moderate and mild OSA group (n = 117; 47.8 %), and non-OSA group (n = 84; 34.3 %). AHI had a significant association with hs-CRP (β = 0.125, p = 0.009) adjusting for age, smoking, drinking, and MetS status. Hs-CRP was elevated with severe OSA (β = 0.533, p = 0.005) even adjusting for BMI and MetS. Moreover, there was an independent effect for adjusted odds ratios (AORs) between the stratification of the severity for OSA and MetS.ConclusionElevated hs-CRP level is associated with severe OSA, independent of known confounders. The effect of OSA in CRP is independent of MetS was identified.

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