Follow-up: correlation between obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and hypertension

AIM:To explore the correlation between obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and hypertension. METHODS: Prospective home-visit questionnaires were used in 1868 subjects from November 1989 to November 2009, accompanied by annual medical examinations including blood pressure, blood lipids, serum glucose, electrocardiogram and chest x-ray, and the results were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 1 868 subjects ［956 males, 912 females aged from (53-82) years with a mean of (63±6) years］, 598 (32.0%) were diagnosed as having OSAS. Hypertension was found in 477 cases (79.8%) in the OSAS group (n=598) and 323 cases (25.4%) in the control group (n=1 270) by the end of the 20-year follow-up. There was significant difference in two groups (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The probability of hypertension in people with OSAS is higher than in persons without OSAS, indicating a correlation between OSAS and hypertension. OSAS may be an independent harmful factor for development of hypertension.