title: Vanished gender differences of cardiometabolic risk factors after matching the apnea hypopnea index at postmenopausal age.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and cardiometabolic risk factors are male prevalent.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated whether gender differences remained prominent after matching for the apnea hypopnea index (AHI) and postmenopause.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a retrospective analysis of 350 eligible SDB patients, female patients were matched with male patients of the same age and body mass index (BMI) (age-BMI-matched [nAHImt]; n = 102 pairs) or were matched with male patients of the same age, BMI, and AHI (age-BMI-AHI-matched [AHImt]; n = 66 pairs). The nAHImt or AHImt patients were further separated into junior and senior subgroups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the nAHImt/junior group, women had shorter neck circumferences, better sleep architecture, and lower AHI, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score, blood pressure (BP), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and uric acid (UA) than nAHImt/junior men. In the AHImt/junior group, women had shorter neck circumferences, lower waist/hip ratios, ESS, BP, TG, and UA than AHImt junior men. In the nAHImt/senior group, women had lower AHI, neck circumferences, waist/hip ratios, diastolic BP, and UA than men. In contrast, in the AHImt/senior group, most cardiometabolic parameters were similar between women and men. After further matching for the AHI, many elements of gender differences disappeared.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared with AHImt men, women had lower UA, TG, BP, and daytime sleepiness before menopause, but gender differences became indistinguishable postmenopause. We suggested that matching sleep quality or adjusting AHI would be noteworthy and required for studying gender differences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chung-Shan Medical University Hospital, Chung-Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.forename: Ren-Jing
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Hsiao-Sui
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Ai-Hui
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Shu-Yun
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shu-Ping
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Shin-Da
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001049:Apnea / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017286:Polysomnography; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult