Association Between the Nutritional Inflammatory Index and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Risk: Insights from the NHANES...

Area of Science:

• Nutritional immunology
• Sleep medicine
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) risk assessment often overlooks systemic metabolic and physiological factors.
• Current monitoring methods like polysomnography (PSG) are resource-intensive, limiting routine use.
• There's a need for accessible biomarkers to assess OSA risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate composite nutritional-inflammatory indices from routine blood markers for OSA risk.
• To identify feasible indices for OSA management and monitoring.
• To explore the association between these indices and OSA risk.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 9622 adults from NHANES (2015-2020) and GWAS datasets.
• Utilized logistic regression, restricted cubic splines, machine learning, and Mendelian randomization (MR).
• Identified key components of the Advanced Lung Cancer Inflammation Index (ALI) including BMI and albumin (ALB).

Main Results:

• The ALI was significantly associated with OSA risk (OR = 1.59).
• Individuals in the highest ALI tertile had a 59% increased likelihood of OSA.
• BMI and ALB were confirmed as causal risk factors for OSA; age, gender, and NLR were also significant predictors.

Conclusions:

• The Advanced Lung Cancer Inflammation Index (ALI) shows potential as a composite index for OSA risk assessment.
• Nutritional-inflammatory indices can improve OSA monitoring and management.
• Integration of statistical modeling, machine learning, and causal inference enhances clinical utility.