Impact of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on weight in obstructive sleep apnea

To determine the impact of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on weight change in persons with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

The Apnea Positive Pressure Long-term Efficacy Study (APPLES) was a 6-month, randomized, double-blinded sham-controlled multicenter clinical trial conducted at 5 sites in the United States. Of 1,105 participants with an apnea hypopnea index ≥ 10 events/ hour initially randomized, 812 had body weight measured at baseline and after 6 months of study.

CPAP or Sham CPAP.

Body weight, height, hours of CPAP or Sham CPAP use, Epworth Sleepiness Scale score.

Participants randomized to CPAP gained 0.35 ± 5.01 kg, whereas those on Sham CPAP lost 0.70 ± 4.03 kg (mean ± SD, p = 0.001). Amount of weight gain with CPAP was related to hours of device adherence, with each hour per night of use predicting a 0.42 kg increase in weight. This association was not noted in the Sham CPAP group. CPAP participants who used their device ≥ 4 h per night on ≥ 70% of nights gained the most weight over 6 months in comparison to non-adherent CPAP participants (1.0 ± 5.3 vs. -0.3 ± 5.0 kg, p = 0.014).

OSA patients using CPAP may gain a modest amount of weight with the greatest weight gain found in those most compliant with CPAP.

A commentary on this article appears in this issue on page 995.

Quan SF; Budhiraja R; Clarke DP; Goodwin JL; Gottlieb DJ; Nichols DA; Simon RD; Smith TW; Walsh JK; Kushida CA. Impact of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on weight in obstructive sleep apnea.