Lack of associations between thyroid function and obstructive sleep apnea severity in adults with prediabetes and diabetes mellitus.

PURPOSE

Hypothyroidism is associated with a high frequency of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, the prevalence of OSA in hypothyroid patients is not different from the general population in many reports. The importance of thyroid function screening in sleep-disordered breathing is still controversial. This study aimed to explore the association between thyroid dysfunction and OSA in the adults with prediabetes or diabetes mellitus type 2, who have very high prevalence of OSA.

METHODS

OSA was assessed using an in-home monitoring device, WatchPAT200. OSA severity was measured using apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), oxygen desaturation index (ODI), minimum oxygen saturation (minO2), and time spent under oxygen saturation < 90% (T90). Patients with pre-existing thyroid dysfunction were excluded.

RESULTS

Participants included 70 men and 118 women with mean age 52.8 ± 10.9 years and body mass index 28.2 ± 4.9 kg/m. One hundred forty participants (75%) had OSA, with a median AHI of 10.1 (interquartile range 4.8, 18.3). The percentage of positive thyroid autoantibody (thyroperoxidase and thyroglobulin antibody) was similar among the subjects with and without OSA. There was no correlation between the levels of thyroid function (TSH, FT3, FT4, TSH/FT3, and TSH/FT4 ratio) and the severity indices of OSA (AHI, ODI, minO2, and T90).

CONCLUSIONS

These data do not support universal screening for thyroid dysfunction in OSA patients with diabetes or prediabetes.