Gender-Related Changes of the Epicardial Fat Thickness and Leptin in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

• Published in: Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2014-04, Vol.31 (4), p.411-419
• Main Authors: Akilli, Hakan, Kayrak, Mehmet, Bekci, Taha Tahir, Erdogan, Halil İbrahim, Aribas, Alpay, Yildirim, Oguzhan, Taner, Alpaslan, Erer, Murat, Unlu, Ali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue - metabolism; Adipose Tissue - pathology; Adult; Biomarkers - blood; Body Mass Index; Case-Control Studies; Echocardiography, Doppler - methods; epicardial fat; Female; Follow-Up Studies; gender; Humans; leptin; Leptin - analysis; Leptin - blood; Male; Middle Aged; Obesity - blood; Obesity - complications; Obesity - diagnosis; obstructive sleep apnea; Pericardium - metabolism; Pericardium - pathology; Polysomnography - methods; Prospective Studies; Reference Values; Sensitivity and Specificity; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Factors; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - diagnosis; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - etiology
• ISSN: 0742-2822; 1540-8175
• DOI: 10.1111/echo.12392

Background Epicardial fat thickness (EFT), an indicator of visceral obesity, and leptin are 2 novel markers for studying the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) population. This study aimed to investigate the effects of gender on leptin levels and EFT, and the relation with OSA severity. Methods A total of 149 patients with OSA (female/male 55/94 and mean age 50.8 ± 9.2 years) and 50 control patients (female/male 24/26 and mean age 48.9 ± 8.8 years) were included in the study. The study population was divided into 4 groups according to apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) as control (AHI  0.05). EFT was thicker in the severe OSA group than in the control and mild OSA groups among women, whereas EFT was not changed according to OSA severity among males (P > 0.05). Conclusion Leptin and EFT may be a valuable parameter in the evaluation of OSA severity in women than in men.