October 13, 2003American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Sleep Apnea and Markers of Vascular Endothelial Function in a Large Community Sample of Older Adults
Why the study?
Is sleep apnea associated with impaired vascular endothelial function in older adults?
Population
1,037 older participants in the baseline examination of the Sleep Heart Health/Cardiovascular Health Study…
Design
Cross-sectional
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
Supports sleep apnea hypoxemia link to vascular measures in older adults; extends prior data but leaves open causality and practice change.
Structured PICO
Is sleep apnea associated with impaired vascular endothelial function in older adults?
P
Population
1,037 older participants in the baseline examination of the Sleep Heart Health/Cardiovascular Health Study cohort, age ≥68 years, 56% female
I
Intervention
Sleep apnea indices (apnea-hypopnea index and hypoxemia index) derived from 12-channel home polysomnography
O
Outcome
Baseline arterial diameter and percentage of flow-mediated dilation measured by ultrasoundsurrogate
Sleep apnea, particularly hypoxemia, is associated with vascular endothelial dysfunction in older adults, though the relationship is partially confounded by obesity.
Limitations
- Whether these relationships are entirely independent of obesity is unclear
Cite This Study
Nieto et al. (2003) studied this question.