Evaluation of arterial stiffness and quality of life in the treatment of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or Mandibular Advancement Appliance: a cross-sectional study

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is highly associated with a significant reduction in the Quality of Life (QoL) and is associated with deleterious effects on the cardiovascular system. Arterial stiffness is characterized by morphofunctional changes in the arteries and its assessment can be obtained non-invasively mainly through the measurement of pulse wave velocity (PWV). Arterial stiffness has been proposed as a predictor of cardiovascular diseases. To compare arterial stiffness as well as QoL in patients diagnosed with moderate to severe OSA treated with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) or Mandibular Advancement Appliance (MAA) therapies. This is a cross-sectional study involving 105 participants diagnosed with moderate to severe OSA categorized into three independent groups: A Non-treated Control Group and CPAP and MAA treated Groups. QoL was assessed by the Quebec Sleep Questionnaire (QSQ) and arterial stiffness was assessed noninvasively by Mobil-O-Graph. The groups were homogeneous, except for the polysomnographic parameters Apnea and Hypopnea Index (AHI) (p = 0.036) and Minimum O saturation (p = 0.011) (evaluated to diagnose the OSA condition before treatment) and Body Mass Index (BMI) (p