Effect of CPAP Therapy on Serum Lipids and Blood Pressure in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Abstract

Background: Most of patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) are at risk of metabolic syndrome. The treatment of choice for OSA patients is the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). Reports about the effect of CPAP on metabolic parameters are controversial. So, we aimed to evaluate the effect of CPAP therapy on blood pressure, Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), and serum lipids including: Triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (Chol), High Density Lipoproteins (HDL), and Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL).

Materials and methods: This study included 35 OSA patients. Initially, their baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded. Then, the patients underwent CPAP therapy on average 4-7 hours for 8 weeks. The level of FBS, TG, Cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and blood pressure were measured and recorded before and after treatment. Finally, the collected data were analyzed with SPSS version 22.

Results: This study included 35 OSA patients [24 men (68.6%)], with mean age of 45.58±8.02 years. Results indicated that CPAP therapy led to decrease of 9.76 and 3.49 mmHg in systolic and diastolic blood pressures, respectively. Also, LDL decreased to 6.27mg/dl and HDL increased to 0.75 mg/dl (P<0.001) with treatment. The changes of other variables were not significant (P>0.05).

Conclusion: Treatment of OSA with CPAP has beneficial effects on blood pressure and some items of lipid profile. Regarding the importance of metabolic disturbances in OSA complications, choosing an appropriate treatment for OSA patients can play an important role in improvement of patients status as well as prevention of these complications.

Keywords: Blood Pressure; Continuous positive airway pressure; Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome; Serum Lipids.

Figure 1.

Comparison of blood pressure, FBS and lipid parameters in OSA patients in terms of BMI, pre and post CPAP. (^*: P value<0.05; ^**: P value<0.01)