Genetic variations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol on metabolic disorders in obstructive sleep apnea.

Background: The study aimed to explore the relationship between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) genetic variants and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and its complications, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD), insulin resistance (IR), and metabolic syndrome (MS).

Method: 4329 individuals with suspected OSA who underwent a comprehensive assessment of anthropometric, biochemical, and polysomnography (PSG) data, along with 30 LDL-C single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were enrolled. The 10-year Framingham CVD risk score (FRS), IR and MS were evaluated for each subject. Linear regression and logistic regression were utilized to examine the correlations among these variables.

Results: After the Benjamini-Hochberg correction, linear regression results indicated positive correlations between variants rs3741297 and rs629301 with FRS (β = 0.031, P=0.002; β = 0.026, P=0.015). Logistic regression revealed that rs3741297 increased MS risk among total subjects [OR = 1.67 (95% CI:1.369-2.038), P=1.32 × 10] and increased IR risk in females [OR = 3.475 (95% CI:1.653-7.307), P=0.03]. In males, rs2642438 decreased MS risk [OR = 0.81 (95% CI:0.703-0.933), P=0.045].

Conclusions: The rs3741297 variant correlated with susceptibility to CVD, IR, and MS in the OSA population. OSA, CVD, IR and MS share a potentially common genetic background, which may promote precision medicine.

Cinical Trial Registration: The study protocol was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1900025714).