Abstract
Currently available data regarding the blood levels of erythropoietin (EPO) in sleep apnea (SA) patients are contradictory. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to evaluate the EPO levels in SA patients via quantitative analysis. A systematic search of Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science were performed. EPO levels in SA group and control group were extracted from each eligible study. Weight mean difference (WMD) or Standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated by using fixed-effects or random effect model analysis according to the degree of heterogeneity between studies. A total of 9 studies involving 407 participants were enrolled. The results indicated that EPO levels in SA group were significantly higher than that in control group (SMD 0.61, 95% CI 0.11–1.11, p = 0.016). Significantly higher EPO levels were found in patients with body mass index <30 kg/m2, and cardiovascular complications in the subsequent subgroup analysis (both p < 0.05). High blood EPO levels were found in SA patients in the present meta-analysis.
Highlights
Sleep apnea (SA), namely, is the absence of oronasal air flow during sleep
Studies which met the following criteria were enrolled into the present meta-analysis: (1) participants included in the study were adults; (2) diagnosis of SA was according to polysomnography (PSG); (3) EPO levels were reported both in SA group and control group
EPO levels were increased in patients with SA regardless of AHI levels
Summary
Sleep apnea (SA), namely, is the absence of oronasal air flow during sleep. The pathophysiologic characteristics of SA are chronic intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation [1]. SA is divided to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea (CSA). The former is characterized by recurrent collapse of upper airway, whereas the latter is caused by the unstable ventilation drive [1, 3]. Whether the EPO levels in SA patients being changed or not remains controversial. Some studies demonstrated that EPO concentrations were no different between SA patients and normal subjects [10, 11]. Authors claimed that EPO levels were significantly increased in SA subjects [12, 13]. It has been suggested that continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment might normalize the diurnal EPO levels in SA patients [14]. The primary aim of the present meta-analysis was to evaluate the EPO levels in SA patients via quantitatively analysis the present available literature
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