Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and resumes during sleep. Although the common complications of OSA are hypertension and cardiovascular disease, OSA may also lead to the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) through oxidative stress, inflammation, and hypoxia. The objective of this study is to examine the risk of CKD associated with OSA.
This study included a total of 1,525 participants (mean age 62.5 years, 52.4% women) with confirmed OSA. The severity of OSA was determined using the apnea-hypopnea index (normal, <5.0; mild, 5.0–14.9; moderate, 15.0–29.9; and severe, ≥30.0). The stage of CKD was defined using the eGFR rate. The primary outcomes of the study were incident CKD and CKD-related hospitalization or death measured using Cox proportional hazards regression model.
During the mean follow-up of 19 years, 461 CKD (stage 3 or higher) events occurred. Multivariable adjustment indicated that OSA was associated with an increased risk of CKD (HR 1.51). No other associations between sleep characteristics and CKD were discovered.
The findings suggested that obstructive sleep apnea was associated with the risk of chronic kidney disease of stage-3 or higher. However, the association was not significant, and more research on the topic is required.
Ref: https://jasn.asnjournals.org/content/31/8/1859
