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Multicenter Study
. 2025 Jan 21;26(3):886.
doi: 10.3390/ijms26030886.

Influence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on Oxidative Stress in Pregnancy

Laura Cànaves-Gómez  1 , María Paloma Giménez Carrero  1 , Ainhoa Álvarez Ruiz De Larrinaga  2   3 , Andrés Sánchez Baron  4 , Mercedes Codina Marcet  1   5 , Amanda Iglesias Coma  1   6 , Mónica De-La-Peña  1   6   7   8 , María Concepción Piñas Cebrian  1   7 , Susana García Fernández  1   7 , José Antonio Peña Zarza  1   8   9 , Daniel Morell-Garcia  1   10 , Antonia Barceló Bennasar  1   6   10 , Alberto Alonso-Fernández  1   6   7   8
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Influence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on Oxidative Stress in Pregnancy

Laura Cànaves-Gómez et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common during pregnancy and linked to adverse outcomes. While oxidative stress is a proposed pathogenic mechanism, evidence in pregnant populations remains limited. This multicenter, prospective study evaluated oxidative stress through protein carbonyl levels in 171 pregnant women and 86 cord blood samples. Polysomnography (PSG) performed during pregnancy categorized participants with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in OSA, rapid eye movement (REM) OSA, and supine OSA. Protein carbonyl levels were measured by the dinitrophenyl hydrazine (DNPH) method. No significant differences were found in maternal or cord blood protein carbonyl levels between OSA and non-OSA groups, or between REM and supine OSA subgroups. Interestingly, women with shorter apnea-hypopnea (AH) length showed both higher maternal and cord blood protein carbonyl levels and lower nocturnal oxygen saturation. Overall, OSA in pregnancy was not associated with increased oxidative stress as measured by protein carbonyl levels. However, apnea-hypopnea duration and nocturnal hypoxia may influence oxidative stress, pointing to a complex relationship between OSA and oxidative stress during pregnancy, beyond traditional metrics like AHI. Future studies should explore additional biomarkers and diverse molecular pathways that could play a role, with special attention to emerging factors such as apnea-hypopnea length and hypoxic burden to elucidate the interrelationships between OSA and pregnancy more comprehensively.

Keywords: apnea–hypopnea index (AHI); gestational diabetes (GD); maternal–fetal health; obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); oxidative stress; pregnancy; protein carbonyl.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Maternal protein carbonyl content of pregnant women according to diverse OSA criteria. Blue color represents OSA samples and green non-OSA.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cord blood protein carbonyl content according to diverse OSA criteria. Blue color represents OSA samples and green non-OSA.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Maternal and cord blood protein carbonyl content according to apnea–hypopnea length.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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