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Obstructive sleep apnea and its association with humoral immunity against varicella zoster virus

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article
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Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to evaluate the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and humoral immunity to varicella zoster virus (VZV).

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included patients who underwent polysomnography and concurrently agreed for blood collection between January 2018 and February 2021. Habitual snorers and patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea were evaluated to compare the VZV immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody titer between habitual snorer group and OSA group. Correlation between VZV IgG antibody titer and various sleep related respiratory parameters were also evaluated.

Results

We found that the VZV IgG antibody titer of the habitual snorer group (n = 60) was significantly higher than that of the severe OSA group (n = 54) (244.1 ± 80.9 and 163.09 ± 48.39, respectively. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation, P < 0.001). According to Spearman’s correlation analysis, the VZV IgG antibody titer was moderately negatively correlated with apnea hypopnea index (r = -0.477, P < 0.001), apnea index (r = -0.496, P < 0.001), hypopnea index (r = -0.398, P < 0.001), respiratory disturbance index (r = -0.467, P < 0.001), arousal index (r = -0.467, P < 0.001) and oxygen desaturation index (r = -0.475, P < 0.001). Minimal oxygen saturation was moderately positively correlated with VZV IgG antibody titer (r = 0.474, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Humoral immunity to VZV is significantly reduced in patients with severe OSA, and VZV IgG antibody titer was inversely correlated with respiratory events during sleep.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are not openly available due to reasons of sensitivity and are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Data are located in controlled access data storage at Korea University College of Medicine.

Abbreviations

OSA :

Obstructive sleep apnea

ICSD :

International Classification of Sleep Disorders

AASM :

American Academy of Sleep Medicine

PSG :

Polysomnography

HSAP :

Home sleep apnea test

VZV :

Varicella zoster virus

CPAP :

Continuous positive airway pressure

IgG :

Immunoglobulin G

SaO 2 :

Oxygen saturation

AI :

Apnea index

HI :

Hypopnea index

AHI :

Apnea-hypopnea index

RERA :

Respiratory effort related arousals

RDI :

Respiratory disturbance index

ODI :

Oxygen desaturation index

gpELISA :

Glycoprotein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

SPSS :

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

CMI :

Cell mediated immunity

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Funding

Korea University Ansan Hospital (O2310621) and Korea University (K2111031) provided financial support in the form of financial funding. The sponsor had no role in the design or conduct of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Rhinology and Sleep Medicine, Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Korea University College of Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Ansan, South Korea

    Min Young Seo & Seung Hoon Lee

  2. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Ansan, South Korea

    Won Suk Choi

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  1. Min Young Seo
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Contributions

Concept and design; M.Y. Seo, W.S. Choi, Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; M.Y. Seo and S.H. Lee, Drafting of manuscript; M.Y. Seo, Funding: M.Y. Seo, Supervision: S.H. Lee.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seung Hoon Lee.

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Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (Korea University Ansan Hospital) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. (2021AS0161) For this type of study formal consent is not required.

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All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers' bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements), or non-financial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

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Seo, M.Y., Choi, W.S. & Lee, S.H. Obstructive sleep apnea and its association with humoral immunity against varicella zoster virus. Sleep Breath 28, 707–713 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-023-02936-8

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