Association between apnea-hypopnea index and coronary artery calcification: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to evaluate the association between presence and severity of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and the presence of subclinical coronary artery disease (CAD) as assessed by coronary calcium score. METHODS: Medline, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases were searched. The presence of coronary artery calcification (CAC) and CAC score were assessed. RESULTS: Irrespective of the cut-off value of apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI) (5 or 15 events/h), patients in the OSA group had higher rate of CAC presence and mean CAC score than those in the control group. Subgroup analyses of patients monitored with home sleep apnoea testing (HSAT) or in-hospital/laboratory polysomnography showed that the OSA group had higher rate of CAC presence and mean CAC score than the control group, except in the comparison of mean CAC score between AHI ≥5 vs. <5 events/h for patients using HSAT, which was not significant. Pair-wise comparison showed that CAC score may increase with increased OSA severity. CONCLUSIONS: In participants without symptomatic coronary disease, the presence of OSA was associated with the presence and extent of CAC. However, potential confounders such as age, gender, and BMI and the diversity of CAC scores may affect the association.