Sleep Apnea and Fatty Liver Are Coupled Via Energy Metabolism

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep-related breathing disorder characterized by intermittent hypoxia. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between OSA and fatty liver.

We enrolled 176 subjects to this study who underwent polysomnography (PSG) for suspected OSA. The control group included 42 simple snoring subjects. PSG, biochemical tests, and ultrasonographic examination were performed all subjects.

The simple snoring and mild, moderate, and severe OSA groups included 18/42 (42.86%), 33/52 (63.5%), 27/34 (79.4%), and 28/48 (79.2%) subjects with hepatosteatosis, respectively. There were significant differences in hepatosteatosis and hepatosteatosis grade between the simple snoring and the moderate and severe OSA groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that BMI and average desaturation were independently and significantly related to hepatic steatosis.

Our study shows that BMI and the average desaturation contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver in subjects with OSA. In this regard, sleep apnea may trigger metabolic mitochondrial energy associated processes thereby altering lipid metabolism and obesity as well.