PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Soriul Kim AU - Ki Yeol Lee AU - Nan Hee Kim AU - Robert D. Abbott AU - Cherry Kim AU - Seung Ku Lee AU - Seong Hwan Kim AU - Chol Shin TI - Relationship of obstructive sleep apnoea severity and subclinical systemic atherosclerosis AID - 10.1183/13993003.00959-2019 DP - 2019 Jan 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - 1900959 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2019/10/17/13993003.00959-2019.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2019/10/17/13993003.00959-2019.full AB - Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common form of sleep-disordered breathing. Untreated OSA might accelerate atherosclerosis, potentially increasing the cardiovascular disease burden in patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between objectively measured OSA severity and the presence of subclinical systemic atherosclerosis using non-invasive measurements, including tomographic quantification of the calcium burden.A total of 2157 participants of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study, who were free of structural heart disease and underwent both in-home polysomnography and chest computed tomography, were cross-sectionally analysed. Participants were divided into three groups based on the severity of OSA: no OSA (apnoea-hypopnea index [AHI]<5, n=1096), mild OSA (5≤AHI<15, n=700), and moderate-to-severe OSA (AHI≥15, n=361). Calcium deposits in the thoracic aorta and coronary arteries were measured by the Agatston score.Participants with moderate-to-severe OSA were 1.6 times (95% CI=1.18–2.15, p=0.002) more likely to have ascending thoracic aorta calcification (aTAC≥100 units) than those without OSA, after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors. In addition, the association between moderate-to-severe OSA and aTAC of subjects with higher epicardial fat volume (EFV) was slightly stronger than that in patients without OSA and lower EFV tertile (OR=2.11; 95% CI=1.30–3.43).Severity of OSA in the general population was independently associated with subclinical systemic atherosclerosis. These findings highlight the potential importance of severe OSA, especially in subjects with higher epicardial fat, as a possible predictive factor for systemic atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.FootnotesThis manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the European Respiratory Journal. It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJ online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article.Conflict of interest: Dr. Kim has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Lee has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Kim has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Abbott has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Kim has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Lee has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Kim has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Dr. Shin has nothing to disclose.