Association of Sleep Disordered Breathing with Systemic hypertension – The Indian perspective

Abstract

Introduction : Economic growth, better per capita income and a westernized lifestyle has increased the prevalence of metabolic disorders like hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and obesity in developing countries including India. Sleep Disordered Breathing has been found to be increasingly associated with obesity and hypertension. The incidence and prevalence of SDB in India remains to be fully investigated. In the study an attempt was made to elucidate the true extent and magnitude of association between sleep disordered breathing and hypertension in Indian context. Materials and Methods: 80 patients were enrolled from the Chest Clinic of a tertiary hospital from 2003 till 2005. Patients underwent clinical interview (questionnaire), physical examination, blood pressure measurement and routine investigations. Overnight sleep study was carried out using E series EEG/PSG Compumedics machine (Compumedics, Australia) at the sleep lab.Results : Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as prevalence of hypertension increased significantly with increasing SDB. High body mass index may be a confounding factor in the analysis. OSAHS has been identified as an independent risk factor for hypertension, with a linear relationship between hypertension and OSAHS. AHI was strongly associated with self reported history of snoring (p=0.007). Conclusion :Our findings suggest that sleep disordered breathing is associated with systemic hypertension in middle and older individuals.