Elevated levels of serum chemerin in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Chemerin is implicated to be correlated with obesity and inflammation.

This study aims to investigate whether serum chemerin is associated with the presence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).

A total of 132 patients with OSAS and 108 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study.

Serum chemerin levels were significantly elevated in OSAS patients (120.93 ± 25.84 µg/L vs. 107.51 ± 20.41 µg/L). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that serum chemerin levels were an independent determinant of the presence of OSAS (OR 1.030, 95% CI 1.016-1.045; p < 0.001). Serum chemerin levels in severe OSAS patients were significantly higher compared with those in mild and moderate OSAS patients (p = 0.015 and p = 0.020, respectively). Spearman correlation analysis indicated that serum chemerin levels were correlated with the severity of OSAS (r = 0.210, p = 0.016). Serum chemerin were positively correlated with waist circumference (r = 0.164, p = 0.008), body mass index (r = 0.158, p = 0.014), systolic blood pressure (r = 0.135, p = 0.037), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (r = 0.140, p = 0.031), C-reactive protein (r = 0.202, p = 0.002), and apnea-hypopnea index (r = 0.152, p = 0.022).

Elevated serum chemerin levels could be an independent predicting marker of the presence and severity of OSAS.