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Obstructive sleep apnea and dyslipidemia: evidence and underlying mechanism

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Abstract

Introduction

Over the past half century, evidence has been accumulating on the emergence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the most prevalent sleep-disordered breathing, as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. A significant body of research has been focused on elucidating the complex interplay between OSA and cardiovascular risk factors, including dyslipidemia, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus that portend increased morbidity and mortality in susceptible individuals.

Conclusion

Although a clear causal relationship of OSA and dyslipidemia is yet to be demonstrated, there is increasing evidence that chronic intermittent hypoxia, a major component of OSA, is independently associated and possibly the root cause of the dyslipidemia via the generation of stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase-1 and reactive oxygen species, peroxidation of lipids, and sympathetic system dysfunction. The aim of this review is to highlight the relationship between OSA and dyslipidemia in the development of atherosclerosis and present the pathophysiologic mechanisms linking its association to clinical disease. Issues relating to epidemiology, confounding factors, significant gaps in research and future directions are also discussed.

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Acknowledgment

This research was supported by funding from the NIH (R25HL105444, R01HL095799 and R01MD004113). The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, SUNY Downstate Medical Center (Box 1199), Brooklyn Health Disparities Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11203-2098, USA

    Ajibola Monsur Adedayo, Oladipupo Olafiranye, Ferdinand Zizi, Clinton Brown & Girardin Jean-Louis

  2. Department of Medicine, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Sleep Disorders Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA

    Girardin Jean-Louis

  3. Primary Care Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    David Smith

  4. Adult Health Nursing Department, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA

    Alethea Hill

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  1. Ajibola Monsur Adedayo
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Correspondence to Oladipupo Olafiranye.

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Adedayo, A.M., Olafiranye, O., Smith, D. et al. Obstructive sleep apnea and dyslipidemia: evidence and underlying mechanism. Sleep Breath 18, 13–18 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-012-0760-9

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