AUTHOR=Rodrigues Sara , Bortolotto Luiz Aparecido , Beyl Robbie A. , Singh Prachi 

TITLE=Severity of sleep apnea impairs adipose tissue insulin sensitivity in individuals with obesity and newly diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sleep

VOLUME=2

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sleep/articles/10.3389/frsle.2023.1295301

DOI=10.3389/frsle.2023.1295301

ISSN=2813-2890

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder associated with increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes. While studies have examined the effects of sleep on whole-body insulin sensitivity, little is known about the effects of sleep on adipose tissue insulin sensitivity in patients with OSA. We analyzed if the severity of OSA, measured by apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), is associated with adipose tissue insulin sensitivity.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>We examined the relationship between sleep parameters and adipose tissue insulin sensitivity in non-diabetic participants with obesity and newly diagnosed OSA who underwent overnight polysomnography and a 2 h oral glucose tolerance test during which circulating free fatty acids were measured. In total, 16 non-diabetic participants with obesity and newly diagnosed OSA (sex, 81.3% males; mean age, 50.9 ± 6.7 y; BMI, 36.5 ± 2.9 kg/m<sup>2</sup>; AHI, 43 ± 20 events/h) were included in the analysis.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>In our study participants, AHI is inversely associated with free-fatty acid suppression during oral glucose challenge (<italic>R</italic> = −0.764, <italic>p</italic> = 0.001). This relationship persisted even after statistical adjustment for age (<italic>R</italic> = −0.769, <italic>p</italic> = 0.001), body mass index (<italic>R</italic> = −0.733, <italic>p</italic> = 0.002), waist-to-hip ratio (<italic>R</italic> = −0.741, <italic>p</italic> = 0.004), or percent body fat mass (<italic>R</italic> = −0.0529, <italic>p</italic> = 0.041). Furthermore, whole-body insulin sensitivity as determined by the Matsuda index was associated with percent REM sleep (<italic>R</italic> = 0.552, <italic>p</italic> = 0.027) but not AHI (<italic>R</italic> = −0.119, <italic>p</italic> = 0.660).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>In non-diabetic patients with OSA, the severity of sleep apnea is associated with adipose tissue insulin sensitivity but not whole-body insulin sensitivity. The impairments in adipose tissue insulin sensitivity may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes.</p></sec>