Sleep apnoea-hypopnoea index is an independent predictor of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein elevation.
BACKGROUND
Recent reports have identified the apnoea and hypopnoea index (AHI) as an additional independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, several studies reported contradictory results about the association between the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level and the severity of apnoea.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this work is to study this association in patients referred to the sleep laboratory for clinical suspicion of sleep apnoea and presenting a wide range of AHI.


METHODS
Forty-nine consecutive patients were included in the study. The SigmaStat software package (Jandle Scientific) was used. Multilinear regression analysis was tested using a stepwise backward selection of the explicative variables. The clinical characteristics (diabetes, hypertension, smoking habits, gender) were treated as dichotomous variables, while all other data (age, BMI, lipids, white blood cells) were continuous ones; high-sensitivity (hs)-CRP was the dependent variable.


RESULTS
In univariate analysis, AHI was correlated to hs-CRP: R = 0.43, p = 0.002. In multivariate analyses, we found an independent association between the AHI, adjusted for classical cardiovascular risk factors, and hs-CRP.


CONCLUSIONS
In a sample of 49 patients, referred to the sleep laboratory for suspicion of sleep apnoea in routine practice, we observed an independent association between the AHI and hs-CRP.
Zouaoui Boudjeltia
Karim
K
Laboratory of Experimental Medicine, ULB 222 Unit, CHU de Charleroi, Vesale Hospital, Free University of Brussels, Montigny-le-Tilleul, Belgium. karim.zouaoui@chu-charleroi.be
Van Meerhaeghe
Alain
A
Doumit
Sonia
S
Guillaume
Michel
M
Cauchie
Philippe
P
Brohée
Dany
D
Vanhaeverbeek
Michel
M
Kerkhofs
Myriam
M
D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D017286:Polysomnography; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000097:blood*
D002097:C-Reactive Protein