Abstract
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may contribute to the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between OSA and liver steatosis as assessed by magnetic resonance, an accurate test for the non-invasive diagnosis of liver steatosis. The study included patients from the NUMEVOX cohort presenting at least one criterion for the metabolic syndrome and assessed by polysomnography for suspected OSA. Liver steatosis was evaluated using the liver proton density fat-fraction measured by magnetic resonance imaging (PDFF-MRI), which reflects the concentration of triglycerides in liver tissue. Significant liver steatosis was defined as a PDFF-MRI >5.6%. OSA was confirmed in all patients with 44% of patients presenting severe OSA (apnea hypopnea index [AHI] of more than 30 per hour). Among 167 patients, 85 had a PDFF-MRI >5.6 %. Patients with a PDFF-MRI >5.6 % were more frequently male, with a higher BMI and liver enzyme levels and with a higher proportion of diabetes, dyslipidaemia and severe OSA. On univariate analyses, patients with severe OSA were more likely to have a significant steatosis with an odds ratio of 1.88 (95% confidence interval: 1.01 - 3.51). However, this association was no longer significant after adjustment for age, sexe and BMI. Similar results were found when both AHI and PDFF-MRI were considered as continue variables suggesting an association between liver steatosis and OSA severity that was no longer significant after further adjustments.
Conclusion: severe OSA conferred a significant increase in risk for liver steatosis but the association was not maintained after adjusting for confounders.
Footnotes
Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2019; 54: Suppl. 63, PA826.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2019