Metabolic Effect of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery

Objectives: The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and its association with perioperative comorbidities in patients who undergo bariatric surgery remain unclear in South Korea. We investigated the prevalence of OSA and its association with metabolic parameters in patients who underwent bariatric surgery.Methods: This retrospective study included 144 patients who underwent bariatric surgery; 98 patients underwent a sleep study and were included in this study. Patients were categorized into two groups based on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) cut-off value of 15/hour.Results: Overall, 52 (53.1%) of the patients showed an AHI ≥15/hour. The neck circumference was larger (43.0±4.7 cm vs. 40.5±3.6 cm, p=0.005) and prevalence of diabetes was higher (65.4% vs. 45.7%, p=0.049) in patients with AHI ≥15/hour than in those with AHI <15/hour. Furthermore, fasting blood glucose levels were higher (134.7±50.5 mg/dL vs. 114.8±34.3 mg/dL , p= 0.028) and serum high-density lipoprotein levels were lower (46.8±9.9 mg/dL vs. 52.8±13.3 mg/dL, p=0.013) in the AHI ≥15/hour than in the AHI <15/hour group.Conclusions: More than 50% of patients who underwent bariatric surgery had moderate-to-severe OSA. The prevalence of metabolic comorbidities was higher in those with moderate-to-severe OSA than in those without. OSA screening may be useful for evaluation of the metabolic complications of morbid obesity.