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Uric acid as a marker of severity of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome in older patients

Ácido úrico como marcador de gravidade da síndrome da apneia obstrutiva do sono em pacientes idosos

ABSTRACT

Objective:

Uric acid has been shown to be related to the severity of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) in adults. We assessed the role of uric acid in OSAS in a cohort of older patients.

Methods:

A total of 164 patients aged >65 years, admitted to our sleep laboratory between January 1st, 2016 and July 1st, 2018 with a complaint of snoring, underwent overnight polysomnography and were retrospectively evaluated.

Results:

A total of 126 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria (mean age 69.16±3.68 years, 56% men) were included. The control group was comprised of 14 patients, while the OSAS group consisted of 112 patients (31 mild, 44 moderate and 37 severe cases). No differences were observed in age, sex, hip circumference, waist/hip ratio or comorbidities between the groups. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale score, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference were significantly higher in OSAS patients than in controls (p=0.001, p=0.02, and p=0.36, respectively). Uric acid was not correlated with any of the sleep parameters, and no significant differences were detected between the groups. Hyperuricemic patients were similar in terms of sleep parameters and comorbidities in comparison with the other patients.

Conclusions:

No relationship was observed between uric acid level and OSAS severity, as defined by the apnoea-hypopnea index. Further studies are needed to determine the value of uric acid as a marker of OSAS, after controlling for cardiovascular comorbidities, in older patients with this syndrome.

Keywords:
Aged; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive; Uric Acid

RESUMO

Objetivo:

o ácido úrico mostrou estar relacionado à gravidade da síndrome da apneia obstrutiva do sono (SAOS) em adultos. Avaliamos o papel do ácido úrico na SAOS em uma coorte de pacientes idosos.

Métodos:

Um total de 164 pacientes com idade >65 anos, admitidos em nosso laboratório do sono entre 1º de janeiro de 2016 e 1º de julho de 2018 com queixa de ronco, foram submetidos à polissonografia durante a noite e avaliados retrospectivamente.

Resultados:

Foram incluídos 126 pacientes que preencheram os critérios de inclusão (média de idade 69,16±3,68 anos, 56% homens). O grupo controle foi composto por 14 pacientes, enquanto o grupo SAOS foi composto por 112 pacientes (31 leves, 44 moderados e 37 graves). Não foram observadas diferenças na idade, sexo, circunferência do quadril, relação cintura/quadril ou comorbidades entre os grupos. O escore da Escala de Sonolência de Epworth, o índice de massa corporal (IMC) e a circunferência da cintura foram significativamente maiores nos pacientes com SAOS do que nos controles (p=0,001, p=0,02 e p=0,36, respectivamente). O ácido úrico não se correlacionou com nenhum dos parâmetros do sono e não foram detectadas diferenças significativas entre os grupos. Os pacientes hiperuricêmicos não apresentaram diferença em termos de parâmetros de sono ou comorbidades dos demais pacientes.

Conclusões:

Não foi observada relação entre o nível de ácido úrico e a gravidade da SAOS, definida pelo índice de apneia-hipopneia. Mais estudos são necessários para determinar o valor do ácido úrico como marcador de SAOS, após controle de comorbidades cardiovasculares, em pacientes idosos com SAOS.

Palavras-chave:
Idoso; Apneia Obstrutiva do Sono; Ácido Úrico

INTRODUCTION

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is defined as recurrent partial or complete pharyngeal closure during sleep resulting in apnoea or hypopnea. These recurrent episodes result in a cycle of intermittent hypoxia and subsequent reoxygenation11. Kapur VK. Obstructive sleep apnea: diagnosis, epidemiology, and economics. Respir Care. 2010 Sep;55(9):1155-67.. Patients exhibit oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation22. Atkeson A, Yeh SY, Malhotra A, Jelic S. Endothelial function in obstructive sleep apnea. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Mar-Apr;51(5):351-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2008.08.002
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/...
.

Uric acid is a significant and powerful marker of morbidity and mortality in cardiovascular disease, chronic renal disease, and metabolic syndrome. In particular, studies including older populations have shown that high uric acid levels are related to mortality33. Wu CY, Hu HY, Chou YJ, Huang N, Chou YC, Lee MS, Li CP. High serum uric acid levels are associated with all-cause and cardiovascular, but not Cancer, mortality in elderly adults. J Am Geriatr Soc.2015 Sep;63(9):1829-36. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.13607
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/...
. The recurrent hypoxia observed in OSAS increases xanthine degradation of adenosine triphosphate, which causes increased serum uric acid levels. Uric acid is an end-product of purine metabolism, and an increase in its concentration may reflect heightened activity of the xanthine oxidase pathway, which is in turn related to increased free radical and cytokine production, cell apoptosis and endothelial dysfunction44. Feig DI, Kang DH, Johnson RJ. Uric acid and cardiovascular risk. N Engl J Med. 2008 Oct;359:1811-21. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmra0800885
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1056/...
,55. Cai H, Harrison DG. Endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases: the role of oxidant stress. Circ Res. 2000 Nov;87(10):840-44. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.res.87.10.840
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1161/...
,66. Fang J, Alderman MH. Serum uric acid and cardiovascular mortality the NHANES I epidemiologic follow-up study, 1971-1992. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. JAMA. 2000 May;283(18):2404-10. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.283.18.2404
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1001/...
. Previous studies in patients with OSAS have shown that their serum uric acid levels are elevated compared to controls77. Drager LF, Lopes HF, Maki-Nunes C, Trombetta IC, Toschi-Dias E, Alves MJ, et al. The impact of obstructive sleep apnea on metabolic and inflammatory markers in consecutive patients with metabolic syndrome. PLoS One. 2010 Aug;5(8):e12065. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012065
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/...
,88. Verhulst SL, Van Hoeck K, Schrauwen N, Haentjens D, Rooman R, Van Gaal L, et al. Sleep-disordered breathing and uric acid in overweight and obese children and adolescents.Chest. 2007 Jul;132(1):76-80. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.06-2930
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1378/...
.

Although many studies have investigated the association between uric acid levels and sleep parameters, most included only middle-aged individuals. Cardiovascular comorbidities increase with ageing. Some studies have evaluated the association between uric acid levels and cardiovascular mortality in older subjects66. Fang J, Alderman MH. Serum uric acid and cardiovascular mortality the NHANES I epidemiologic follow-up study, 1971-1992. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. JAMA. 2000 May;283(18):2404-10. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.283.18.2404
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1001/...
,99. Freedman DS, Williamson DF, Gunter EW, Byers T. Relation of serum uric acid to mortality and ischemic heart disease. The NHANES I epidemiologic followup study. Am J Epidemiol. 1995 Apr;141(7):637-44. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117479
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/...
,1010. Burack RC, Keller JB, Higgins MW. Cardiovascular risk factors and obesity: are baseline levels of blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol and uric acid elevated prior to weight gain? J Chronic Dis. 1985;38(10):865-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9681(85)90111-0
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/...
. These studies show that such patients have a higher prevalence of hyperuricemia and a higher risk of experiencing cardiovascular events.

OSAS is now considered an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease1111. Hopps E, Caimi G. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: links betwen pathophysiology and cardiovascular complications. Clin Invest Med. 2015 Dec;38(6):E362-70. https://doi.org/10.25011/cim.v38i6.26199
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.25011...
,1212. Baratta F, Pastori D, Fabiani M, Fabiani V, Ceci F, Lillo R, et al. Severity of OSAS, CPAP and cardiovascular events: A follow-up study. Eur J Clin Invest. 2018 May;48(5):e12908. https://doi.org/10.1111/eci.12908
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/...
. The older population is growing worldwide so a better understanding of this association is needed. As life span increases, more and more patients of this age-group are presenting to sleep laboratories. In this study, we determined the relationship between sleep parameters and serum uric acid concentrations in older patients with OSAS.

METHODS

A total of 164 patients (age>65 years) admitted to our sleep laboratory with the complaint of snoring, and who underwent full-night polysomnography between January 1st, 2016 and July 1st, 2018, were evaluated retrospectively.

Patients previously diagnosed with OSAS, renal dysfunction, liver disease, acute infection, hypoxemia, malignant neoplasms, or connective tissue diseases were excluded from the study. Inclusion criteria for patients are being older than 65 years old and diagnosed with OSAS. A total of 126 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and whose uric acid values were available from blood analysis were included. Their demographic and clinical characteristics, including age, gender, comorbidity status, drug history, smoking history and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score were recorded. Waist and hip circumference measurements, as well as weight and height, were obtained from the patients’ files. Ethical committee approval was obtained from the Istanbul Research and Training Hospital (protocol number: 26.04.2019-1809).

Polysomnography

All patients underwent overnight polysomnography under the supervision of a sleep technician in the sleep laboratory. The standard procedure was performed in all patients using an Embla N7000 data acquisition and analysis system (Medcare Flaga, Reykjavik, Iceland), from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The physiological signals monitored included electroencephalography (EEG) (C4-M1, C3-M2, O2-M1 and O1-M2), electrooculography, and submental electromyography (EMG). The following were also obtained: ribcage and abdominal effort, measured by respiratory inductive plethysmography (RIP) (XactTrace, Medcare Flaga); body position, measured with a calibrated sensor; snoring, measured with a piezoelectric sensor; and oronasal flow, measured with an SpO2 nasal pressure cannula over an average of 3 s. The ECG (lead II) was sampled at 512 Hz. Sleep stage and arousal were scored by two experienced scorers, with 80-95% concordance, using the Somnologica Studio software package according to standard criteria. Respiratory events were scored as follows. Apnoea was defined as a cessation of airflow for ≥10 s. Apnoea was classified as obstructive in the presence of continued movement on RIP, and as central in the absence of movement on RIP. Hypopnea was defined as a ≥50% reduction in oronasal flow amplitude for ≥10 s, accompanied by a ≥3% desaturation or arousal. Hypopnea was classified as obstructive, central, or mixed by calibrated respiratory inductance plethysmography. Hypopnea was classified as obstructive in the presence of continued movement on RIP. The oxygen desaturation index (ODI) measured the number of times that the blood oxygen level dropped by ≥3% from baseline per hour of sleep.

Laboratory analyses

The full blood count and biochemical analyses were performed on venous blood samples taken in the morning after eight hours of fasting and polysomnography evaluation, using an Olympus AU2700 Plus Analyser (Beckman Coulter, Tokyo, Japan). The patients were divided into two groups according to established uric acid concentration cut-off values for hyperuricemia (>7 mg/dL in men and >6 mg/dL in women).

Statistical analyses

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows software was used for the statistical analyses (version 16.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Categorical variables are expressed as percentages. All variables were tested for normality with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Mean values and standard deviations were calculated for normally distributed continuous variables, and median values and interquartile range for non-normally distributed variables. Spearman and Pearson correlation analyses were used to evaluate the relationships among variables. The relationships between categorical variables were evaluated with the chi-square test. Comparisons between independent groups were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test and t-tests, or by Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance with the Bonferroni correction applied. A p<0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

The mean age of the 126 patients was 69.16±3.68 (65-83) years, and 71 (56%) were men. The control group included 14 patients (50% men), while the OSAS group consisted of 112 patients (57.1% men). No significant difference between total sleep time and sleep efficiency in patients and controls was detected (358.65±65.05 and 77.08±13.54 vs. 328.2±70.06 and 87.60±13.98; p>0.05), while minimum O2 saturation and ODI were significantly different between groups (80.43±11.15 and 25.37±21.06 vs. 86.64±3.3 and 3.7±2.90; p=0.016 and p=0.001).

The OSAS group included 31 mild, 44 moderate and 37 severe cases of OSAS, grouped according to the apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI) value. No differences were observed in age, sex, hip circumference, waist/hip ratio, comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hyperlipidaemia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - COPD) between the control and OSAS subgroups. ESS score (p=0.001), body mass index (BMI) (p=0.02) and waist circumference (p=0.036) were significantly higher in the OSAS group than in the controls (Table 1). When the patients with OSAS were grouped by their AHI value, no significant difference in uric acid level was detected among groups (Figure 1).

Table 1.
Demographical properties and comorbidities of patients grouped by obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome severity by the apnoea-hypopnea index.

Figure 1.
Box plot graph of uric acid levels of patients grouped by obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) severity using the apnoea hypopnea index (AHI)

No differences in demographic parameters or comorbidities were observed when all patients with OSAS were compared to controls, except in AHI value (Table 2).

Table 2.
Demographic characteristics and comorbidities of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome and the control group.

Uric acid level was not correlated with the AHI value, ODI, mean overnight saturation, minimum saturation, time spent below with SpO2<90%, BMI or waist or hip circumference (Table 3).

Table 3.
Correlations among uric acid and the various parameters of interest.

When patients were divided into two groups according to the established cut-off values for hyperuricemia, no differences in sleep parameters or comorbidities were observed between the hyperuricemic and non-hyperuricemic patients, although there were differences in BMI and waist circumference (p=0.011 and p=0.014, respectively) (Table 4).

Table 4.
Comparison between patients with high and normal uric acid values

DISCUSSION

We found no relationship between uric acid levels and OSAS severity, as defined by the AHI, in older patients. Furthermore, we detected no correlation between uric acid level and polysomnography parameters. Hyperuricemia was only correlated with BMI and waist circumference in our geriatric population.

Previous studies conducted on children and adults with OSAS have shown that serum uric acid levels are elevated in patients with OSAS compared to controls77. Drager LF, Lopes HF, Maki-Nunes C, Trombetta IC, Toschi-Dias E, Alves MJ, et al. The impact of obstructive sleep apnea on metabolic and inflammatory markers in consecutive patients with metabolic syndrome. PLoS One. 2010 Aug;5(8):e12065. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012065
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/...
,88. Verhulst SL, Van Hoeck K, Schrauwen N, Haentjens D, Rooman R, Van Gaal L, et al. Sleep-disordered breathing and uric acid in overweight and obese children and adolescents.Chest. 2007 Jul;132(1):76-80. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.06-2930
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1378/...
. Hira et al. reported that uric acid level tended to be correlated with the amount of time spent below 90% SaO2 in 40 adult patients with OSAS1313. Hira HS, Shukla A, Kaur A, Kapoor S. Serum uric acid and lactate levels among patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: which is a better marker of hypoxemia? Ann Saudi Med. 2012 Jan-Feb;32(1):37-42. https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.2012.37
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5144/...
. In their study, polysomnography parameters did not show significant correlations with serum uric acid level in a regression analysis that included age and BMI. They concluded that an increased uric acid level was correlated with the degree of hypoxia, although the correlation was influenced by the waist-hip ratio.

In another study of 1,135 patients, uric acid levels were correlated with sleep parameters, such as the AHI; time elapsed in a state of oxygen desaturation was not correlated when confounding factors, such as BMI, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, were controlled for. As in the study of Hira et al., the conclusion reached was that the correlation between uric acid levels and sleep parameters was influenced by other factors, such as obesity1414. Ruiz AG, Sanchez AA, Luque EC, Garcia DA, Romero AF, Carmona CB, Capote F. Valores de ácido úrico en sangre en pacientes con trastornos respiratorios del sueño [Blood uric acid levels in patients with sleep-disordered breathing]. Arch Bronconeumol. 2006 Oct;42(10):492-500. Spanish. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1579-2129(06)60575-2
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/...
. In our older population, no correlation was observed between uric acid levels and the degree of hypoxia, but the waist-hip ratio was significantly higher in patients with OSAS than in controls. BMI and waist circumference were also significantly higher in patients with versus patients without high uric acid levels. Our findings are similar to those of a study of older Koreans showing that elevated uric acid levels are associated with metabolic syndrome, one of the components of which is a large waist circumference1515. Choi H, Kim HC, Song BM, Park JH, Lee JM, et al. Serum uric acid concentration and metabolic syndrome among elderly Koreans: The Korean Urban Rural Elderly (KURE) study. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2016 May-Jun;64:51-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2016.01.005
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/...
.

A severe OSAS group had higher uric acid levels compared to controls and other OSAS groups in a study including 436 patients; moreover, hyperuricemia was associated with cardiovascular disease in the OSAS patients1616. Kanbay A, Inonu H, Solak Y, Erden A, Uslu E, Yuksel S, et al. Uric acid as a potential mediator of cardiovascular morbidity in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Eur J Intern Med. 2014 Jun;25(5):471-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejim.2014.04.005
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/...
. In another study including 449 individuals, uric acid level was significantly higher in an OSAS versus a control group. In addition, the proportion of hypertensive ratios was significantly higher in the OSAS population1717. Parmaksız ET, Salepçi B, Güngör GA, Cömert S, Parmaksız E. Ürik Asit Obstrüktif Uyku Apne SendromundaBir Belirteç midir? [Is uric acid a marker in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome?] J Turk Sleep Med. 2016 Sep;3(3):73-8. Turkish. https://doi.org/10.4274/jtsm.228
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4274/...
. In our study, no significant differences in comorbidities, including hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, were detected between the OSAS group and controls. This could be a reason why the increase in uric acid was found in their studies done by Kanbay et al.1616. Kanbay A, Inonu H, Solak Y, Erden A, Uslu E, Yuksel S, et al. Uric acid as a potential mediator of cardiovascular morbidity in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Eur J Intern Med. 2014 Jun;25(5):471-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejim.2014.04.005
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/...
and Parmaksız et al.1717. Parmaksız ET, Salepçi B, Güngör GA, Cömert S, Parmaksız E. Ürik Asit Obstrüktif Uyku Apne SendromundaBir Belirteç midir? [Is uric acid a marker in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome?] J Turk Sleep Med. 2016 Sep;3(3):73-8. Turkish. https://doi.org/10.4274/jtsm.228
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4274/...
but not in ours. The relationship between increased levels of uric acid and elevated risk of cardiovascular disease has been demonstrated in many epidemiological studies66. Fang J, Alderman MH. Serum uric acid and cardiovascular mortality the NHANES I epidemiologic follow-up study, 1971-1992. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. JAMA. 2000 May;283(18):2404-10. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.283.18.2404
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1001/...
,99. Freedman DS, Williamson DF, Gunter EW, Byers T. Relation of serum uric acid to mortality and ischemic heart disease. The NHANES I epidemiologic followup study. Am J Epidemiol. 1995 Apr;141(7):637-44. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117479
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/...
,1010. Burack RC, Keller JB, Higgins MW. Cardiovascular risk factors and obesity: are baseline levels of blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol and uric acid elevated prior to weight gain? J Chronic Dis. 1985;38(10):865-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9681(85)90111-0
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/...
. Hyperuricemic patients with OSAS have a higher prevalence of coronary artery disease and hypertension, regardless of sex, than those without OSAS1818. Pływaczewski R, Bednarek M, Jonczak L, Górecka D, Sliwińiski P. Hiperurykemia u meiczyzn chorych na obturacyjny bezdech senny (obs) [Hyperuricaemia in males with obstructive sleep apnoea (osa)]. Pneumonol Alergol Pol. 2004 Dec;73(3):254-9. Polish.,1919. Pływaczewski R, Bednarek M, Jonczak L, Górecka D, Sliwiński P. Hiperurykemia u kobiet chorych na obturacyjny bezdech senny [Hyperuricaemia in females with obstructive sleep apnoea] Pneumonol Alergol Pol. 2005 Dec;74(2):159-65. Polish.. However, in our series, comorbidities were not different between patients with OSAS and controls.

Healthy adult males have higher uric acid levels than women. This difference is caused by oestrogen, which affects renal tubular reabsorption of acid during the pre-menopausal period. It is also known that, among patients with cardiovascular disease, uric acid levels differ by gender2020. Kawabe M, Sato A, Hoshi T, Sakai S, Hiraya D, Watabe H, et al. Gender differences in the association between serum uric acid and prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome. J Cardiol. 2016 Feb;67(2):170-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jjcc.2015.05.009
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/...
. In a study including 260 male patients with OSAS, uric acid level was correlated with obesity and overnight oxygenation, but the only significant correlation in regression analysis was between uric acid and BMI1818. Pływaczewski R, Bednarek M, Jonczak L, Górecka D, Sliwińiski P. Hiperurykemia u meiczyzn chorych na obturacyjny bezdech senny (obs) [Hyperuricaemia in males with obstructive sleep apnoea (osa)]. Pneumonol Alergol Pol. 2004 Dec;73(3):254-9. Polish.. In another study of 105 female patients performed by the same group, women with a high level of uric acid had a significantly higher BMI and showed desaturation of less than 90% for longer periods1919. Pływaczewski R, Bednarek M, Jonczak L, Górecka D, Sliwiński P. Hiperurykemia u kobiet chorych na obturacyjny bezdech senny [Hyperuricaemia in females with obstructive sleep apnoea] Pneumonol Alergol Pol. 2005 Dec;74(2):159-65. Polish.. However, the same result was reported in male patients in multiple regression analysis1919. Pływaczewski R, Bednarek M, Jonczak L, Górecka D, Sliwiński P. Hiperurykemia u kobiet chorych na obturacyjny bezdech senny [Hyperuricaemia in females with obstructive sleep apnoea] Pneumonol Alergol Pol. 2005 Dec;74(2):159-65. Polish.. Our older population was 56% male, and BMI and waist circumference were the only factors differing significantly between the hyperuricemic and non-hyperuricemic groups.

Some studies reported no significant relationship between uric acid level and OSAS severity. In a study of 600 patients aged 18-70 years, the mean serum uric acid level was significantly higher in the severe OSAS group versus the other patients, but the difference disappeared after correcting for BMI, smoking history, hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, all of which were significantly higher in the severe OSAS group2121. Sunnetcioglu A, Gunbatar H, Yıldız H. Red cell distribution width and uric acid in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Clin Respir J. 2018 Mar;12(3):1046-52. https://doi.org/10.1111/crj.12626
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/...
.

Most inflammatory markers decrease after continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy in patients with OSAS, but the results regarding uric acid levels after CPAP therapy are controversial. In some studies, uric acid is negatively correlated with minimum SpO2 in patients with OSAS, as in Sunnetcioğlu et al.2121. Sunnetcioglu A, Gunbatar H, Yıldız H. Red cell distribution width and uric acid in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Clin Respir J. 2018 Mar;12(3):1046-52. https://doi.org/10.1111/crj.12626
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/...
; we did not find this relationship. Uric acid decreases when OSAS is treated with CPAP2222. Steiropoulos P, Kotsianidis I, Nena E, Tsara V, Gounari E, et al. Long-term effect of continuous positive airway pressure therapy on inflammation markers of patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Sleep. 2009 Apr; 32(4):537-43. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/32.4.537
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/...
. Similarly, uric acid levels drop in overweight children and adolescents who lose weight88. Verhulst SL, Van Hoeck K, Schrauwen N, Haentjens D, Rooman R, Van Gaal L, et al. Sleep-disordered breathing and uric acid in overweight and obese children and adolescents.Chest. 2007 Jul;132(1):76-80. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.06-2930
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1378/...
,2323. Van Hoorenbeeck K, Franckx H, Debode P, Aerts P, Wouters K, Ramet J, et al. Weight loss and sleep-disordered breathing in childhood obesity: effects on inflammation and uric acid. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2012 Jan;20(1):172-7. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2011.282
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/...
. However, in another study including an adult population, no reduction in urate levels was detected after three months of CPAP treatment2424. Prudon B, Roddy E, Stradling JR, West SD. Serum urate levels are unchanged with continuous positive airway pressure therapy for obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized controlled trial. Sleep Med. 2013 Dec;14(12):1419-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2013.09.001
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/...
. Age and certain other confounding factors, such as weight loss, could have been responsible for that result.

The main limitation of this study is small sample size.

In conclusion, this study found no relationship between uric acid level and OSAS severity, as defined by the AHI, in older patients, and hyperuricemia was only correlated with BMI and waist circumference. Further studies are needed to determine the utility of uric acid as a marker in older patients with OSAS, after controlling for cardiovascular comorbidities.

References

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    Kapur VK. Obstructive sleep apnea: diagnosis, epidemiology, and economics. Respir Care. 2010 Sep;55(9):1155-67.
  • 2
    Atkeson A, Yeh SY, Malhotra A, Jelic S. Endothelial function in obstructive sleep apnea. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Mar-Apr;51(5):351-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2008.08.002
    » https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2008.08.002
  • 3
    Wu CY, Hu HY, Chou YJ, Huang N, Chou YC, Lee MS, Li CP. High serum uric acid levels are associated with all-cause and cardiovascular, but not Cancer, mortality in elderly adults. J Am Geriatr Soc.2015 Sep;63(9):1829-36. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.13607
    » https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.13607
  • 4
    Feig DI, Kang DH, Johnson RJ. Uric acid and cardiovascular risk. N Engl J Med. 2008 Oct;359:1811-21. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmra0800885
    » https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmra0800885
  • 5
    Cai H, Harrison DG. Endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases: the role of oxidant stress. Circ Res. 2000 Nov;87(10):840-44. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.res.87.10.840
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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    14 Dec 2020
  • Date of issue
    Dec 2020

History

  • Reviewed
    18 Feb 2020
  • Received
    04 May 2020
  • Accepted
    18 May 2020
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