Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is usually associated with cardiovascular
and cerebrovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and depression. Data on relevant OSA-associated
comorbidities in Central-European populations are scarce. The aim of this study was
to compare the prevalence of comorbidities in two OSA cohorts from Hungary and Romania.
Methods: Data from 588 (282 from Hungary, 306 from Romania) untreated patients with
OSA were retrospectively analyzed. The prevalence rates of hypertension, diabetes,
dyslipidemia, allergic rhinitis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),
osteoporosis, cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease, arrhythmia and depression
were compared between the two populations following adjustment for demographics, body
mass index, smoking history, comorbidities and sleep parameters. Results: The prevalence
rates of hypertension, arrhythmia, cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease, diabetes
and COPD in the whole study population were directly related to the severity of OSA.
We found an inverse correlation between the prevalence of osteoporosis and OSA severity
(all p < 0.05). Following adjustment, the prevalence of dyslipidemia was higher in
the Hungarian cohort, whilst the prevalence of asthma, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular
diseases was higher in the Romanian cohort (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: There was
no difference in the prevalence rate of most comorbidities in patients with OSA from
the two cohorts, except for dyslipidemia, asthma, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular
disease.
