Diastolic Blood Pressure Rises with the Exacerbation of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Males.

Objective: To characterize the association pattern between blood pressure (BP), metabolism changes, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity within male OSA patients.

Methods: The association between systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), glucose, lipids, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), oxygen desaturation index (ODI), and arousal index (ArI) was evaluated after adjustment for BMI and waist circumference/hip circumference ratio (WHR) in 1,370 male OSA patients.

Results: In the multiple linear regression models using SBP as an independent variable, SBP did not associate with the increase of any OSA indexes. BMI and glucose positively associated with AHI, ODI, and ArI elevation. WHR was also positively associated with increasing AHI and ODI. Total cholesterol levels increased with ODI and ArI increases. Triglyceride was associated with ArI. In the multiple linear regression models using DBP as an independent variable, DBP associated universally with AHI, ODI, and ArI with stable coefficients ranging from 0.19 to 0.20. The remaining independent variables were associated with AHI, ODI, and ArI with a similar trend to the models including SBP as an independent variable.

Conclusions: Apnea-hypopnea, hypoxemia, and arousal changed glycometabolism, fat metabolism, and BP profoundly in a particular pattern.