background: Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a major component of neural tissues, and supplementation with fi sh oils improves autonomic tone and reduces risk for CVD. A link between low DHA status and less mature sleep patterns was observed in newborns. Methods: We investigated the relations between red blood cell (RBC) levels of DHA and OSA severity in 350 sequential patients undergoing sleep studies. Severity categories were defi ned as none/mild, moderate, and severe, based on apnea hypopnea index (AHI) scores of 0 to 14, 15 to 34, and > 34, respectively. Results: After controlling for age, sex, race, smoking, BMI, alcohol intake, fi sh intake, and omega-3 supplementation, RBC DHA was inversely related with OSA severity. For each 1-SD increase in DHA levels, a patient was about 50% less likely to be classifi ed with severe OSA. The odds ratios (95% CI) were 0.47 (0.28 to 0.80) and 0.55 (0.31 to 0.99) for being in the severe group versus the none/mild or moderate groups, respectively. Conclusion: These fi ndings suggest that disordered membrane fatty acid patterns may play a causal role in OSA and that the assessment of RBC DHA levels might help in the diagnosis of OSA. The effects of DHA supplementation on OSA should be explored. keywords: Omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid, epidemiology, sleep disordered breathing, biomarkers Citation: Ladesich JB; Pottala JV; Romaker A; Harris WS. Membrane level of omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid is associated with severity of obstructive sleep apnea.

Study Objectives: Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have been shown to have high levels of inflammatory markers. Anti-inflammatory treatment with montelukast and intranasal steroids have demonstrated efficacy for mild OSA in children; this has not been fully evaluated in adults. This study investigated the response of mild OSA in adults to anti-inflammatory medical therapy. Methods: Adults aged ≥ 21 years with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≤ 15 events/h on polysomnography (PSG) were recruited to a prospective double-blind, randomized control trial. Patients were treated for 12 weeks with montelukast and fluticasone or placebo. All underwent a pretreatment and posttreatment PSG. Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score was obtained pretreatment and at 6 and 12 weeks posttreatment. Results: A total of 26 patients completed the study with 13 in each group. Mean age in the treatment and placebo groups were 58.3 ± 10.3 and 54.8 ± 14 years, respectively. There was no significant difference between groups reporting nasal congestion (P = .186), rhinitis (P = .666), or snoring (P = .177). There was no difference in the pretreatment ESS score (P = .077), body mass index (P = .173), or AHI (P = .535). The posttreatment PSG in the treatment group demonstrated a significant increase in total sleep time (P = .02) and percent of stage R sleep (P = .05). Neither group showed significant change in AHI. In patients in the treatment group, the 6-and 12-week follow-up ESS scores were not significantly different from pretreatment scores (P = .37-.46). Conclusions: Intranasal steroids and montelukast did not decrease AHI; however, total sleep time and percent of stage R sleep significantly increased. Selfreported improvement could be explained by observed changes in sleep parameters. Larger prospective studies could help elucidate the effects of medical therapy on adult patients with OSA.

Restless legs syndrome is common among primary care clinic patients. Its prevalence in the NAA population is approximately 3 times higher than in the AA group. We found the association between NAA race and RLS prevalence to be statistically significant. Larger studies are needed to further examine the relation between race and RLS prevalence.

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