Association between physical activity and risk of obstructive sleep apnea.

Purpose: This aim of this study was to investigate the association of physical activity with OSA risk among adult Chinese.

Methods: Participants were selected from baseline survey of the Guangzhou Heart Study. OSA was ascertained by using Berlin Questionnaire, and the physical activity, including leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), occupational activity, and transport activity, was measured with modified Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Principal component analysis was used to extract the patterns of LTPA with varimax orthogonal transformation. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated by using the logistic regression method.

Results: For all 9733 participants, aged 35 to 74 years, LTPA (high vs. inactive, OR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.64-1.03), occupational activity (vigorous vs. retirement, OR:1.28, 95% CI: 0.93-1.75) and transport activity (high vs. retirement, OR: 1.05, 95% CI: 0.69-1.60) were not associated with OSA risk after considering potential confounders. Any specific component of LTPA and two LTPA patterns were also not associated with OSA risk. Stratified analysis yielded similar nonsignificant association of OSA risk with three dimensions of physical activity in both the retirement group and non-retirement group.

Conclusion: This study found that three dimensions of physical activity, including LTPA, transport activity, and occupational activity, were not associated with any risk of OSA. Future studies with longitudinal design are needed.