Weight Loss Ameliorates Markers of Systemic Inflammation and Endothelial Dysfunction in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Obese Patients

Abstract

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common sleep disorder in clinical practice. Its growing worldwide prevalence may be due to the rising incidence of obesity in the public. OSA has been increasingly recognized as a major public health issue, as it has a significant influence on the incidence and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases. Although, these abnormalities could be modulated with weight reduction, there is limitation in clinical studies have addressed the beneficial effects of weight reduction in modulating biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction and cytokines for obesity associated with OSA. Objective: This study was designed to detect the effects of weight loss on the inflammatory cytokines and adhesive molecules in obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Methods: Seventy obese patients with moderate to severe OSA (the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI)>15 events/hour), their age ranged from 36- 50 years and their body mass index ranged from 26-31kg/m2 were equally assigned into two groups: the weight reduction group received aerobic exercises, diet regimen, where the control group received no intervention for 12 weeks. Results: The mean values of body mass index (BMI), apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), tumor necrosis factor –alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), inter-cellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) and E-selectin were significantly decreased in the training group, however the results of the control group were not significant. In addition, there were significant differences between both groups at the end of the study. Conclusion: Weight loss ameliorates inflammatory cytokines and adhesive molecules among obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea.