Genetics and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a study of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing

To investigate the possible influence of genetics in subjects with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), HLA-A, B, C, and DR antigens were studied in 32 Japanese subjects with OSAS. The frequency of HLA-A2 antigen was markedly increased in the patients with OSAS compared with normal controls (81.3% vs 40.6%) and compared with the Japanese population (40.7%), Pc < 0.035 and Pc < 0.007, respectively. HLA-B39 was found more frequently in OSAS patients than in the Japanese population (Pc < 0.018), but not in the controls. No significant deviation was observed in the frequencies of HLA-C and DR antigens between the OSAS patients and the controls. We conclude that genetics is important in the development of OSAS.