Clinical and polysomnographic features of hypertension in obstructive sleep apnea: A single-center cross-sectional study

Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with elevated blood pressure (BP) and increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to determine the clinical and polysomnographic features of OSA that are significantly associated with hypertension (HT). Methods: This is a prospective study that enrolled patients diagnosed with OSA in Ankara University Faculty of Medicine from January 2015 to June 2016. The patients were categorized into normotensives (n=125) and hypertensives (n=141). BP was taken at the evening before and the morning after polysomnography (PSG). The polysomnographic findings of normotensive and hypertensive patients were compared, and independent risk factors that are associated with HT were analyzed. Results: Hypertensive patients exhibited older age and higher Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), mean apnea duration, arousal index, and oxygen desaturation index (ODI) than normotensive patients. Nocturnal oxygen desaturation (NOD) was more frequent and the percentage of the duration of NOD to total sleep time (TST) was higher in hypertensive than normotensive patients. Multivariate analyses revealed that age (OR: 1.095, 95% CI 1.053 to 1.139, p<0.001), ESS (OR: 1.186, 95% CI 1.071 to 1.313, p=0.001), mean apnea duration (OR: 1.072, 95% CI 1.032 to 1.113, p=0.002), ODI (OR: 1.062, 95% CI 1.025 to 1.101, p=0.001), and NOD (OR: 2.439, 95% CI 1.170 to 5.086, p=0.017) were independent risk factors for HT in OSA. Conclusion: This study suggests that age, ESS, parameters of oxygenation, and apnea duration were associated with HT in patients with OSA. Hence, patients with OSA with these findings should be evaluated for HT.