Sleep Apnea and Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions — high blood sugar, high blood pressure, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels — that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. This disorder is a collection of other risk factors linked to a higher risk of heart disease.
Having just one of these conditions doesn’t mean you have metabolic syndrome. However, any of these conditions increase your risk of serious disease. Having more than one of these might increase your risk even more.
Metabolic syndrome is common in patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) because obesity is a shared risk factor. Analysis of metabolic syndrome component variables shows that hypertension is the primary variable associated with a diagnosis of OSA. Metabolic syndrome is associated with OSA when an AHI cutoff of 10 or higher is used.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and metabolic syndrome represent significant risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease.
Patients with OSA have a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and hypertension are significantly greater in patients with OSA.