Abstract
Rationale: Recent evidence suggests that the physiopathological consequences underlying obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which are caused by intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation, resemble to those induced by aging. Additionally, some studies report that the deleterious effects associated with OSA might be age dependent. Besides, the pathological events induced by OSA have demonstrated to be different between sexes. Considering this, we hypothesized that OSA induces cellular and molecular alterations associated with the aging process, which are dependent of the age and/or sex of the patient. Thus, the objectives of the study were to evaluate the effect of OSA in the aging processes, and to determine whether this effect changes depending on the age and/or sex of the patient.
Methods: Observational, cross-sectional and prospective study including 580 patients referred to the sleep unit for suspected OSA. Five hallmarks of aging were evaluated: alteration of cellular communication (serum C-reactive protein concentration), deregulation of nutrient sensing (insulin resistance), telomere attrition (leukocyte telomeric length), mitochondrial dysfunction (leukocyte mitochondrial mtDNA copy number) and genomic instability (urinary 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine concentration). To investigate the effect of OSA in the aging process, the subjects were classified by the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Non-OSA group was defined as AHI < 15 events/h and OSA group was defined as AHI ≥ 15 events/h. To investigate if such effect was different depending on the age of the patient, the subjects were divided in four groups according to AHI and the median of age. To investigate if such effect was different depending on the sex, the subjects were divided in four groups according to AHI and sex.
Results: A significant increase of specific hallmarks of aging was observed in OSA patients compared to non-OSA patients after adjustment for confounding factors. Indeed, a dose-response relationship was found between AHI and the following hallmarks: alteration of cellular communication (p-for-trend=0.029), deregulation of nutrient sensing (p-for-trend<0.001), mitochondrial dysfunction (p-fortrend=0.012) and genomic instability (p-for-trend=0.015). There was no evidence of any change in the described effect of OSA due to the age or sex of the patient.
Conclusions: OSA is associated with an increase in the aging process. This association is independent of the age or sex of the patient.
Methods: Observational, cross-sectional and prospective study including 580 patients referred to the sleep unit for suspected OSA. Five hallmarks of aging were evaluated: alteration of cellular communication (serum C-reactive protein concentration), deregulation of nutrient sensing (insulin resistance), telomere attrition (leukocyte telomeric length), mitochondrial dysfunction (leukocyte mitochondrial mtDNA copy number) and genomic instability (urinary 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine concentration). To investigate the effect of OSA in the aging process, the subjects were classified by the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Non-OSA group was defined as AHI < 15 events/h and OSA group was defined as AHI ≥ 15 events/h. To investigate if such effect was different depending on the age of the patient, the subjects were divided in four groups according to AHI and the median of age. To investigate if such effect was different depending on the sex, the subjects were divided in four groups according to AHI and sex.
Results: A significant increase of specific hallmarks of aging was observed in OSA patients compared to non-OSA patients after adjustment for confounding factors. Indeed, a dose-response relationship was found between AHI and the following hallmarks: alteration of cellular communication (p-for-trend=0.029), deregulation of nutrient sensing (p-for-trend<0.001), mitochondrial dysfunction (p-fortrend=0.012) and genomic instability (p-for-trend=0.015). There was no evidence of any change in the described effect of OSA due to the age or sex of the patient.
Conclusions: OSA is associated with an increase in the aging process. This association is independent of the age or sex of the patient.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Journal | American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine |
| Volume | 201:A4516 |
| Publication status | Published - 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | American Thoracic Society 2020 International Conference - Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, United States Duration: 15 May 2020 → 20 May 2020 https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/book/10.1164/ajrccm-conference.2020 https://healthmanagement.org/c/hospital/event/american-thoracic-society-ats-conference-2020 (Conference overview) |
Bibliographical note
Conference poster abstract in session C19: SRN: Phenotypes, endotypes, and novel therapies for SDBKeywords
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Aging process