• Aaron Baessler, Rashid Nadeem, Michael Harvey, Essam Madbouly, Amna Younus, Hassan Sajid, Jawed Naseem, Asma Asif, and Hasnain Bawaadam.
• Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, IL, USA.
• J Inflamm Lond. 2013 Jan 1;10:13.

BackgroundObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). Intermittent hypoxia associated with OSA increases sympathetic activity and may cause systemic inflammation, which may contribute to CAD in patients with OSA. Treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been shown to change levels of inflammatory markers. We analyzed data from published studies by a systematic meta-analysis.ObjectiveTo asses if treatment for sleep apnea by CPAP will affect levels of inflammatory markers.Data ResourcesPubMed, Embase and Cochrane library.MethodsStudy eligibility criteria full text English studies of adult, human subjects, addressing values of at least one of the inflammatory markers before and after CPAP treatment. We used the definition of OSA as an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of ≥ 5/h, reported values in mean and standard deviation or median with range.ParticipantsAdult, human.InterventionsCPAP treatment for OSA.Study Appraisal And Synthesis MethodA total of 3835 studies were reviewed for inclusion, while 23 studies pooled for analysis. A total of 14 studies with 771 patients were pooled for C-reactive protein (CRP); 9 studies with 209 patients were pooled for tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α); and 8 studies with 165 patients were pooled for interleukin-6 (IL-6).Endpoint DefinitionsTHE FOLLOWING INFLAMMATORY MARKERS WERE CHOSEN: CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6.ResultsC-reactive protein: Study level means ranged from 0.18 to 0.85 mg/dl before CPAP treatment and 0.10 to 0.72 mg/dl after CPAP treatment. Mean differences, at a study level, ranged from -0.05 to 0.50. The pooled mean difference was 0.14 [95% confidence interval 0.08 to 0.20, p < 0.00001]. There was heterogeneity in this endpoint (df = 13, p < 0.00001, I(2) = 95%). Tumor necrosis factor-α: Study level means ranged from 1.40 to 50.24 pg/ml before CPAP treatment and 1.80 to 28.63 pg/ml after CPAP treatment. Mean differences, at a study level, ranged from -1.23 to 21.61. The pooled mean difference was 1.14 [95% confidence interval 0.12 to 2.15, p = 0.03]. There was heterogeneity in this endpoint (df = 8, p < 0.00001, I2 = 89%). Interleukin-6: Study level means ranged from 1.2 to 131.66 pg/ml before CPAP treatment and 0.45 to 66.04 pg/ml after CPAP treatment. Mean differences, at a study level, ranged from -0.40 to 65.62. The pooled mean difference was 1.01 [95% confidence interval -0.00 to 2.03, p = 0.05]. There was heterogeneity in this endpoint (df = 7, p < 0.00001, I(2) = 95%).LimitationsOnly published data. Studies pooled were mainly small, non-randomized trials.ConclusionSleep apnea treatment with CPAP improves levels of inflammatory markers.

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