Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder characterized by repeated partial or complete obstruction of the upper airways during sleep. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of demographics and hematological biomarkers with obstructive sleep apnea severity in patients with pulmonary disease who were candidates for the STOP-Bang test. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 on 122 pulmonary disease patients, who were candidates for the STOP-Bang test, at the outpatient clinic of Razi Hospital, Rasht, northern Iran. Patients scoring <3 on the STOP-Bang test were excluded from the study. Conversely, patients with a score of ≥3, categorized as high-risk, were candidates for home sleep apnea testing (HSAT). Furthermore, patients identified as candidates for OSA were also tested for C-reactive protein (CRP) to quantitatively assess the relationship between CRP levels and the severity of OSA. Out of 122 patients, 51.6% were male. The mean age and body mass index (BMI) were 57.53 ± 13.99 years and 32.05 ± 4.41 kg/cm2, respectively. It has been demonstrated that height CRP, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and systolic blood pressure (SBP) are significantly associated with hypopnea-apnea index (HAI) in patients (P<0.05). Body mass index (BMI), age, neck circumference, and history of diabetes illustrated no statistically significant association with the severity of OSA (P<0.05). The severity of OSA was related to the male gender and the presence of OSA (P<0.05). According to the results, male gender and coexistence of OSA results in more severe conditions in these patients.
Bani et al. (Sat,) studied this question.