RESEARCH ARTICLE


Is There Evidence of Early Vascular Disease in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Without Known Comorbidities? Preliminary Findings



P Steiropoulos1, *, C. Bogiatzi2, K. Archontogeorgis1, E. Nena1, M. Xanthoudaki1, P. Boglou1, A. Tzouvelekis1, N. Papanas3, G. Tsivgoulis2, D. Bouros1
1 Department of Pneumonology, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
2 Department of Neurology, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
3 Second Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
4 International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic

Article Information


Identifiers and Pagination:

Year: 2013
Volume: 7
First Page: 61
Last Page: 68
Publisher ID: TOCMJ-7-61
DOI: 10.2174/1874192401307010061

Article History:

Received Date: 5/6/2013
Acceptance Date: 5/6/2013
Electronic publication date: 23 /8/2013
Collection year: 2013

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Creative Commons License
© Steiropoulos et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

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.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Sleep Unit, Department of Pneumonology, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece; Tel: +302551075333; Fax: +302551076106; E-mail: pstirop@med.duth.gr


Abstract

We evaluated early atherosclerotic lesions in 20 non-smokers with newly diagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) and without known comorbidities by measuring common carotid artery intima media thickness (CCA-IMT), transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD), and ankle brachial index (ABI). These were compared with 20 healthy age- and BMI-matched controls. In OSA patients, CCA-IMT was not significantly higher vs. controls (0.74±0.17 vs. 0.66±0.12 mm, p=0.201) and it was positively correlated with neck circumference (r=0.466, p=0.039), arousal index (r=0.663, p=0.001), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity (r=0.474, p=0.035) while it was negatively correlated with Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 sec (r=-0.055, p=0.012). No difference was noted between patients and controls in terms of vascular stenosis on TCD examination, while asymptomatic peripheral artery disease was found in one patient with OSA. In conclusion, OSA patients without known comorbidities exhibit a non-significant increase in CCA-IMT without further evidence of vascular disease, but additional experience in a larger patient series is needed.

Keywords: : Ankle-Brachial Index, Atherosclerosis, Intima-Media Thickness, Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, Transcranial Doppler, Vascular disease.