Annals of Medical Research, vol.27, no.4, pp.1088-1094, 2020 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Abstract
Aim: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is characterized by transient obstruction of the upper airway and intermittent
hypoxia during sleep and known to co-exist with a background low-grade systemic inflammation. In this study, we aimed to evaluate
the routine hematological parameters which have recently been suggested as alternatives to specific inflammatory biomarkers and
their association with disease severity and concurrent cardiovascular risk factors in OSAS.
Material and Methods: 210 patients, who were examined for sleep disordered breathing complaints and diagnosed OSAS after
overnight polysomnography, were included in the study. Patients who suffer from at least one of the following disorders; diabetes
mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidemia were classified as “patients with cardiovascular risk”. Results of routine hemogram
studies and polysomnographic analyses were recorded.
Results: 71% of the patients were male and 29% were female. 12% of the patients had mild, whereas 29% had moderate and 59% had
severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Platelet counts, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, neutrophil/lymphocyte
ratio and platelet/lymphocyte ratio revealed no difference among three groups of disease severity. Comparison of patients with and
without cardiovascular risk either showed no difference in terms of the aforementioned parameters.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that routine hematological parameters such as mean platelet volume, platelet distribution
width, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and platelet/lymphocyte ratio are not appropriate indices for predicting disease severity and
cardiovascular risk in OSAS patients. As severe disease corresponds to a worse inflammatory state, these markers might not be
appropriate for predicting systemic inflammation either.
Keywords: Blood count; cardiovascular risk; hematological parameters; obstructive sleep apnea syndrome