Effect of 5‐year continuous positive airway pressure treatment on the lipid profile of patients with obstructive sleep apnea: A pilot study

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) provides a well‐documented symptomatic relief for most patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); however, its effect on dyslipidaemia remains contradictory. The aim of this longitudinal pilot study was to investigate the effect of long‐term CPAP treatment on the lipid profile of patients with severe OSA. Fasting serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), low‐ and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C and HDL‐C) and triglyceride (TG) were longitudinally measured in 33 OSA patients with an apnea‐hypopnea index (AHI) of ≥30 events/hr, at the time of diagnosis (baseline) and at control visits following fixed‐pressure CPAP treatment. Compared to baseline values, even as short as a 2‐month CPAP therapy resulted in a significant decrease of both TC and LDL‐C levels (TC, 5.62 ± 0.22 vs. 5.18 ± 0.21 mmol/L; LDL‐C, 3.52 ± 0.19 vs. 3.19 ± 0.2 mmol/L; p