The association between chemosensitivity and the 10-year risk of type 2 diabetes in male patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Purpose: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with a variety of diseases, including type 2 diabetes (T2D). Chemosensitivity is an important component of the pathophysiological mechanisms of OSA, and it is not only elevated in patients with OSA but also in those with T2D. This study aimed to investigate the association between chemosensitivity and the risk of developing T2D in patients with OSA.

Methods: A total of 135 male participants with OSA and without pre-existing T2D were enrolled in this study. Peripheral chemosensitivity was evaluated using the rebreathing test. Data on demographics, polysomnographic parameters, and clinical characteristics were collected. The QDiabetes-2018 risk calculator was employed to calculate the 10-year T2D risk. The association between peripheral chemosensitivity and 10-year T2D risk was examined using multivariate logistic regression.

Results: A total of 64 participants had moderate-to-high 10-year risk of T2D. In the fully adjusted model, participants situated within the second and fifth quantiles of peripheral chemosensitivity levels demonstrated a higher risk of developing T2D, with OR of 4.87 (95% CI, 1.22-19.43) and 5.26 (95% CI, 1.27-21.68) respectively. However, across varying levels of peripheral chemosensitivity, no significant difference in the 10-year T2D risk was observed among different severities of OSA.

Conclusion: Higher peripheral chemosensitivity was associated with an increased 10-year T2D risk, as calculated using a risk calculator based on clinical variables. For outcomes that reflect a moderate-to-high 10-year risk of T2D, the severity of OSA did not significantly affect the risk, irrespective of whether patients exhibited relatively low or high chemosensitivity.