Comparison of blood pressure and heart rate in obese males with and without obstructive sleep apnea

Objective: To determine and compare the blood pressure and heart rate in young otherwise healthy obese males with and without obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Physiology at Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore. Male subjects aged 20-45 years having BMI >25 Kg/m2 were included by convenient sampling. Subjects with acute or chronic infections and inflammatory disorders were excluded. OSA was diagnosed with overnight pulse oximetry. Participants who had ≥4% oxygen desaturation index 5-15 events/hour were included in OSA group. Total 64 subjects were divided into two groups: 32 obese with OSA and 32 obese without OSA. Blood pressure was measured by sphygmomanometer. The data were analyzed by SPSS-22. Independent sample’t-test' and Mann-Whitney U tests were applied to compare quantitative variables between two groups. Results: Mean arterial blood pressure (p=0.006) and diastolic blood pressure (p=0.008) were significantly higher in obese participants with OSA. However, the systolic blood pressure (p=0.057) was not significantly different in the two groups. Heart rate was also significantly higher (p=0.011) in obese males with OSA. Conclusion: Mean arterial blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate are found to be higher in obese males with OSA even though the population was relatively young adults and otherwise healthy. Health-care workers and physicians may keep an eye on the blood pressure and heart rate of their obese otherwise healthy relatively young adult patients with snoring and OSA.