Decreased levels of serum nesfatin-1 in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Recent evidences suggest that inflammation is involved in the mechanism of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Nesfatin-1, recently identified as the satiety regulator, is implicated to possess an anti-inflammatory effect. The aim of our study is to investigate whether serum levels of nesfatin-1 are associated with the presence and severity of OSAS. A total of 196 patients with OSAS and 104 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Serum levels of nesfatin-1 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. OSAS patients showed significantly reduced levels of serum nesfatin-1 levels than healthy controls. Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicates that serum nesfatin-1 levels were inversely associated with the presence of OSAS (odds ration (OR) 0.003, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.001 to 0.017; P < 0.001). Serum levels of nesfatin-1 were significantly decreased in severe OSAS patients compared with mild and moderate OSAS patients. Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum nesfatin-1 levels were inversely correlated with the severity of OSAS. In addition, Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum nesfatin-1 levels were negatively correlated with body mass index (BMI) (r = -0.299, P < 0.001), waist-hip ratio (WHR) (r = -0.277, P < 0.001), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (r = -0.338, P < 0.001), and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) (r = -0.248, P < 0.001) in patients with OSAS. Decreased serum nesfatin-1 levels are associated with the presence and severity of OSAS.