@article {613, title = {Association of sleep-disordered breathing, sleep apnea, and hypertension in a large community-based study. Sleep Heart Health Study.}, journal = {JAMA}, volume = {283}, year = {2000}, month = {2000 Apr 12}, pages = {1829-36}, abstract = {

CONTEXT: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and sleep apnea have been linked to hypertension in previous studies, but most of these studies used surrogate information to define SDB (eg, snoring) and were based on small clinic populations, or both.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between SDB and hypertension in a large cohort of middle-aged and older persons.

DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional analyses of participants in the Sleep Heart Health Study, a community-based multicenter study conducted between November 1995 and January 1998.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 6132 subjects recruited from ongoing population-based studies (aged > or = 40 years; 52.8\% female).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI, the average number of apneas plus hypopneas per hour of sleep, with apnea defined as a cessation of airflow and hypopnea defined as a > or = 30\% reduction in airflow or thoracoabdominal excursion both of which are accompanied by a > or = 4\% drop in oxyhemoglobin saturation) [corrected], obtained by unattended home polysomnography. Other measures include arousal index; percentage of sleep time below 90\% oxygen saturation; history of snoring; and presence of hypertension, defined as resting blood pressure of at least 140/90 mm Hg or use of antihypertensive medication.

RESULTS: Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure and prevalence of hypertension increased significantly with increasing SDB measures, although some of this association was explained by body mass index (BMI). After adjusting for demographics and anthropometric variables (including BMI, neck circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio), as well as for alcohol intake and smoking, the odds ratio for hypertension, comparing the highest category of AHI (> or = 30 per hour) with the lowest category (< 1.5 per hour), was 1.37 (95\% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.83; P for trend = .005). The corresponding estimate comparing the highest and lowest categories of percentage of sleep time below 90\% oxygen saturation (> or = 12\% vs < 0.05\%) was 1.46 (95\% CI, 1.12-1.88; P for trend <.001). In stratified analyses, associations of hypertension with either measure of SDB were seen in both sexes, older and younger ages, all ethnic groups, and among normal-weight and overweight individuals. Weaker and nonsignificant associations were observed for the arousal index or self-reported history of habitual snoring.

CONCLUSION: Our findings from the largest cross-sectional study to date indicate that SDB is associated with systemic hypertension in middle-aged and older individuals of different sexes and ethnic backgrounds.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Cohort Studies, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Hypertension, Logistic Models, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Polysomnography, Sleep Apnea Syndromes, Snoring}, issn = {0098-7484}, doi = {10.1001/jama.283.14.1829}, author = {Nieto, F J and Young, T B and Lind, B K and Shahar, E and Samet, J M and Redline, S and D{\textquoteright}Agostino, R B and Newman, A B and Lebowitz, M D and Pickering, T G} } @article {654, title = {Relation of sleep-disordered breathing to cardiovascular disease risk factors: the Sleep Heart Health Study.}, journal = {Am J Epidemiol}, volume = {154}, year = {2001}, month = {2001 Jul 01}, pages = {50-9}, abstract = {

Associations between sleep-disordered breathing and cardiovascular disease (CVD) may be mediated by higher cardiovascular risk factor levels in those with sleep-disordered breathing. The authors examined these relations in the Sleep Heart Health Study, a multiethnic cohort of 6,440 men and women over age 40 years conducted from October 1995 to February 1998 and characterized by home polysomnography. In 4,991 participants who were free of self-reported CVD at the time of the sleep study, moderate levels of sleep-disordered breathing were common, with a median Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI) of 4.0 (interquartile range, 1.25-10.7). The level of RDI was associated cross-sectionally with age, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, hypertension, diabetes, and lipid levels. These relations were more pronounced in those under age 65 years than in those over age 65. Women under age 65 years with RDI in the higher quartiles were more obese than men with similar RDI. Although the pattern of associations was consistent with greater obesity in those with higher RDI, higher body mass index did not explain all of these associations. If sleep-disordered breathing is shown in future follow-up to increase the risk for incident CVD events, part of the risk is likely to be due to the higher cardiovascular risk factors in those with higher RDI.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Analysis of Variance, Cardiovascular Diseases, Chi-Square Distribution, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Linear Models, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Polysomnography, Risk Factors, Sleep Apnea Syndromes, United States}, issn = {0002-9262}, doi = {10.1093/aje/154.1.50}, author = {Newman, A B and Nieto, F J and Guidry, U and Lind, B K and Redline, S and Pickering, T G and Quan, S F} }