Obstructive Sleep Apnea as a Risk Factor for Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To determine whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) risk, we assessed premorbid OSA exposure of patients with nontraumatic ICH and matched controls. METHODS: Ethnic/Racial Variations of Intracerebral Hemorrhage is a multicenter, case-control study evaluating risk factors for ICH that recruited 3000 cases with ICH and 3000 controls. OSA status was ascertained using the Berlin Questionnaire as a surrogate for premorbid OSA. We performed logistic regression analyses to evaluate the association between OSA and ICH. RESULTS: Two thousand and sixty-four (71%) cases and 1516 (52%) controls were classified as having OSA by the Berlin Questionnaire. Cases with OSA were significantly more likely to be male and have hypertension, heart disease, hyperlipidemia, and higher body mass index compared with those without OSA. OSA was more common among cases compared with controls (71% versus 52%, odds ratio, 2.28 [95% CI, 2.05-2.55]). In a multivariable logistic regression model, OSA was associated with increased risk for ICH (odds ratio, 1.47 [95% CI, 1.29-1.67]). CONCLUSIONS: OSA is a risk factor for ICH.

Perceived Stress, Subjective, and Objective Symptoms of Disturbed Sleep in Men and Women with Stable Heart Failure.

Objective/Background: Sleep disturbance is prevalent among patients with heart failure (HF) and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Stress also affects health and quality of life among patients with cardiovascular disease and likely plays a prominent role in HF. However, little is known about the associations between stress and sleep among HF patients.Participants: One hundred fifty-three stable New York Heart Association (NYHA) Classification I-IV HF patients with at least low symptoms of insomnia (Mage:63.0 ± 12.8, 42% Women).Methods: We examined baseline stress, sleep disturbance, and sleep-related characteristics from a randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, including the Perceived Stress Scale, Insomnia Severity Index, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Sleep Disturbance Questionnaire, Dysfunctional Beliefs about Sleep Scale, PROMIS Cognitive Ability, SF-36 Mental Health, and wrist actigraphy. We used Pearson correlations and general linear models to assess stress-sleep associations, including the potential moderating effects of sex and symptom severity (NYHA).Results: There were moderate-to-large correlations between stress and self-reported sleep disturbance, dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, cognitive ability, and mental health (p's < 0.01). High stress was associated with more objectively-measured (i.e., actigraph-assessed) awakenings and sleep fragmentation among women than men (ß = - 0.04, p < 0.01; ß = - 0.71, p = 0.04). Relationships between stress and objectively-measured sleep did not vary by symptom severity.Conclusions: Perceived stress is related to sleep disturbance among HF patients, and effects may be sex-dependent. Subsequent research should determine the temporal links between sleep and stress, and optimal opportunities for intervention among HF patients.

Day-to-day Relationships between Physical Activity and Sleep Characteristics among People with Heart Failure and Insomnia.

OBJECTIVE: Examine the bidirectional relationships between within-person day-to-day fluctuations in physical activity (PA) and sleep characteristics among people with heart failure (HF) and insomnia. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-seven community-dwelling adults [median age 61.9 (interquartile range 55.3,70.9) years, female 41%] with stable HF and insomnia (insomnia severity index >7). METHODS: This sub-study longitudinally analyzed 15 consecutive days and nights of wrist actigraphy recordings, that were collected for baseline data prior to participation in a randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. We used two-level mixed models of within- (daily) and between-participants variation to predict daytime PA counts/minutes from sleep variables (total sleep time, sleep efficiency) and predict sleep variables from PA. RESULTS: PA counts/minutes were low compared to prior cohorts that did not have HF (209 (166,259)) and negatively associated with NYHA class (standardized coefficient ßs = -0.14, p < .01), age (ßs = -0.13, p = .01), comorbidities (ßs = -0.19, p < .01), and body mass index (ßs = -0.12, p = .04). After adjustment for all significant covariates, the within-participant association of total sleep time with next-day PA was estimated to be positive among participants with NYHA class II-IV HF (ßs = 0.09, p = .01), while the within-participant association of PA with same-night total sleep time was estimated to be positive among participants aged ≥60 years (ßs = 0.10, p = .03). CONCLUSIONS: Depending upon age and HF class, daytime PA was associated with longer same-night sleep and/or longer sleep was associated with greater next-day PA. Among those with more advanced HF, realistic sleep improvements were associated with clinically meaningful PA gains the next day.

Mechanisms of reduced sleepiness symptoms in heart failure and obstructive sleep apnea.

Patients with both heart failure and obstructive sleep apnea often have poor, repeatedly disrupted sleep, and yet they frequently do not complain of excessive daytime sleepiness. Understanding this lack of perceived sleepiness is crucial for the case identification and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in the heart failure population at high risk of this disease, especially given the association between untreated obstructive sleep apnea and mortality among patients with heart failure. In this review, we present epidemiologic evidence concerning the lack of sleepiness symptoms in heart failure and obstructive sleep apnea, explore possible mechanistic explanations for this relationship, assess the benefits of treatment in this population, discuss implications for clinical practice and explore directions for future research.

Polysomnographic phenotypes and their cardiovascular implications in obstructive sleep apnoea.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a heterogeneous disorder, and improved understanding of physiologic phenotypes and their clinical implications is needed. We aimed to determine whether routine polysomnographic data can be used to identify OSA phenotypes (clusters) and to assess the associations between the phenotypes and cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of a multisite, observational US Veteran (n=1247) cohort were performed. Principal components-based clustering was used to identify polysomnographic features in OSA's four pathophysiological domains (sleep architecture disturbance, autonomic dysregulation, breathing disturbance and hypoxia). Using these features, OSA phenotypes were identified by cluster analysis (K-means). Cox survival analysis was used to evaluate longitudinal relationships between clusters and the combined outcome of incident transient ischaemic attack, stroke, acute coronary syndrome or death. RESULTS: Seven patient clusters were identified based on distinguishing polysomnographic features: 'mild', 'periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS)', 'NREM and arousal', 'REM and hypoxia', 'hypopnoea and hypoxia', 'arousal and poor sleep' and 'combined severe'. In adjusted analyses, the risk (compared with 'mild') of the combined outcome (HR (95% CI)) was significantly increased for 'PLMS', (2.02 (1.32 to 3.08)), 'hypopnoea and hypoxia' (1.74 (1.02 to 2.99)) and 'combined severe' (1.69 (1.09 to 2.62)). Conventional apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) severity categories of moderate (15≤AHI<30) and severe (AHI ≥30), compared with mild/none category (AHI <15), were not associated with increased risk. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients referred for OSA evaluation, routine polysomnographic data can identify physiological phenotypes that capture risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes otherwise missed by conventional OSA severity classification.

Sleep apnea is independently associated with peripheral arterial disease in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

OBJECTIVE: Sleep apnea (SA) has been linked with various forms of cardiovascular disease, but little is known about its association with peripheral artery disease (PAD) measured using the ankle-brachial index. This relationship was evaluated in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. APPROACH AND RESULTS: We studied 8367 Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos participants who were 45 to 74 years of age. Sleep symptoms were examined with the self-reported Sleep Health Questionnaire. SA was assessed using an in-home sleep study. Systolic blood pressure was measured in all extremities to compute the ankle-brachial index. PAD was defined as ankle-brachial index <0.90 in either leg. Multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate the association between moderate-to-severe SA, defined as apnea-hypopnea index ≥15, and the presence of PAD. Analyses were adjusted for covariates. The prevalence of PAD was 4.7% (n=390). The mean apnea-hypopnea index was significantly higher among adults with PAD compared with those without (11.1 versus 8.6 events/h; P=0.046). After adjusting for covariates, moderate-to-severe SA was associated with a 70% increase in the odds of PAD (odds ratio, 1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-2.5; P=0.0152). This association was not modified by sex (P=0.8739). However, there was evidence that the association between moderate-to-severe SA and PAD varied by Hispanic/Latino background (P<0.01). Specifically, the odds were stronger in Mexican (adjusted odds ratio, 2.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-6.2) and in Puerto Rican Americans (adjusted odds ratio, 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 0.97-4.2) than in other backgrounds. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate-to-severe SA is associated with higher odds of PAD in Hispanic/Latino adults.

The Determining Risk of Vascular Events by Apnea Monitoring (DREAM) study: design, rationale, and methods.

PURPOSE: The goal of the Determining Risk of Vascular Events by Apnea Monitoring (DREAM) study is to develop a prognostic model for cardiovascular outcomes, based on physiologic variables-related to breathing, sleep architecture, and oxygenation-measured during polysomnography in US veterans. METHODS: The DREAM study is a multi-site, retrospective observational cohort study conducted at three Veterans Affairs (VA) centers (West Haven, CT; Indianapolis, IN; Cleveland, OH). Veterans undergoing polysomnography between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2004 were included based on referral for evaluation of sleep-disordered breathing, documented history and physical prior to sleep testing, and ≥2-h sleep monitoring. Demographic, anthropomorphic, medical, medication, and social history factors were recorded. Measures to determine sleep apnea, sleep architecture, and oxygenation were recorded from polysomnography. VA Patient Treatment File, VA-Medicare Data, Vista Computerized Patient Record System, and VA Vital Status File were reviewed on dates subsequent to polysomnography, ranging from 0.06 to 8.8 years (5.5 ± 1.3 years; mean ± SD). RESULTS: The study population includes 1840 predominantly male, middle-aged veterans. As designed, the main primary outcome is the composite endpoint of acute coronary syndrome, stroke, transient ischemic attack, or death. Secondary outcomes include incidents of neoplasm, congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia, diabetes, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Laboratory outcomes include measures of glycemic control, cholesterol, and kidney function. (Actual results are pending.) CONCLUSIONS: This manuscript provides the rationale for the inclusion of veterans in a study to determine the association between physiologic sleep measures and cardiovascular outcomes and specifically the development of a corresponding outcome-based prognostic model.

The connection between sleep deficiency and coronary artery disease: Complexities and controversies.

The growing burden of coronary artery disease (CAD) has led to a deeper exploration of the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying the disease process with the hope of finding novel treatments to reduce CAD morbidity and mortality. Sleep is a normal physiologic phenomenon essential for maintaining homeostasis. Disruption in sleep physiology has been linked to the activation of pro-inflammatory cytokines that may predispose to a greater risk of CAD. Several studies have evaluated the etiologic relationship between sleep deficiency and CAD. In this review, we attempt to highlight the key mechanisms proposed to play a role in the association of sleep with the pathophysiology of CAD, the findings and limitations of the pertinent studies, and possible future direction for evaluating and leveraging the relationship between sleep and CAD to develop new therapeutics.

Association of Periodic Limb Movements and Obstructive Sleep Apnea With Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recent studies have also linked periodic limb movements during sleep to CVD. We aimed to determine whether periodic limb movements during sleep and obstructive sleep apnea are independent or synergistic factors for CVD events or death. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined data from 1049 US veterans with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) <30 events/hour. The primary outcome was incident CVD or death. Cox proportional hazards regression assessed the relationships between the AHI, periodic limb movement index (PLMI), and the AHI×PLMI interaction with the primary outcome. We then examined whether AHI and PLMI were associated with primary outcome after adjustment for age, sex, race and ethnicity, obesity, baseline risk of mortality, and Charlson Comorbidity Index. During a median follow-up of 5.1 years, 237 of 1049 participants developed incident CVD or died. Unadjusted analyses showed an increased risk of the primary outcome with every 10-event/hour increase in PLMI (hazard ratio [HR], 1.08 [95% CI, 1.05-1.13]) and AHI (HR, 1.17 [95% CI, 1.01- 1.37]). Assessment associations of AHI and PLMI and their interaction with the primary outcome revealed no significant interaction between PLMI and AHI. In fully adjusted analyses, PLMI, but not AHI, was associated with an increased risk of primary outcome: HR of 1.05 (95% CI, 1.00-1.09) per every 10 events/hour. Results were similar after adjusting with Framingham risk score. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed periodic limb movements during sleep as a risk factor for incident CVD or death among those who had AHI <30 events/hour, without synergistic association between periodic limb movements during sleep and obstructive sleep apnea.

Suboptimal Sleep Duration Is Associated With Poorer Neuroimaging Brain Health Profiles in Middle-Aged Individuals Without Stroke or Dementia.

BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7, a public health construct capturing key determinants of cardiovascular health, became the Life's Essential 8 after the addition of sleep duration. The authors tested the hypothesis that suboptimal sleep duration is associated with poorer neuroimaging brain health profiles in asymptomatic middle-aged adults. METHODS AND RESULTS: The authors conducted a prospective magnetic resonance neuroimaging study in middle-aged individuals without stroke or dementia enrolled in the UK Biobank. Self-reported sleep duration was categorized as short (<7 hours), optimal (7-<9 hours), or long (≥9 hours). Evaluated neuroimaging markers included the presence of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), volume of WMH, and fractional anisotropy, with the latter evaluated as the average of 48 white matter tracts. Multivariable logistic and linear regression models were used to test for an association between sleep duration and these neuroimaging markers. The authors evaluated 39 771 middle-aged individuals. Of these, 28 912 (72.7%) had optimal, 8468 (21.3%) had short, and 2391 (6%) had long sleep duration. Compared with optimal sleep, short sleep was associated with higher risk of WMH presence (odds ratio, 1.11 [95% CI, 1.05-1.18]; P<0.001), larger WMH volume (beta=0.06 [95% CI, 0.04-0.08]; P<0.001), and worse fractional anisotropy profiles (beta=-0.04 [95% CI, -0.06 to -0.02]; P=0.001). Compared with optimal sleep, long sleep duration was associated with larger WMH volume (beta=0.04 [95% CI, 0.01-0.08]; P=0.02) and worse fractional anisotropy profiles (beta=-0.06 [95% CI, -0.1 to -0.02]; P=0.002), but not with WMH presence (P=0.6). CONCLUSIONS: Among middle-aged adults without stroke or dementia, suboptimal sleep duration is associated with poorer neuroimaging brain health profiles. Because these neuroimaging markers precede stroke and dementia by several years, these findings are consistent with other findings evaluating early interventions to improve this modifiable risk factor.

Insomnia and Early Incident Atrial Fibrillation: A 16-Year Cohort Study of Younger Men and Women Veterans.

Background There is growing consideration of sleep disturbances and disorders in early cardiovascular risk, including atrial fibrillation (AF). Obstructive sleep apnea confers risk for AF but is highly comorbid with insomnia, another common sleep disorder. We sought to first determine the association of insomnia and early incident AF risk, and second, to determine if AF onset is earlier among those with insomnia. Methods and Results This retrospective analysis used electronic health records from a cohort study of US veterans who were discharged from military service since October 1, 2001 (ie, post-9/11) and received Veterans Health Administration care, 2001 to 2017. Time-varying, multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the independent contribution of insomnia diagnosis to AF incidence while serially adjusting for demographics, lifestyle factors, clinical comorbidities including obstructive sleep apnea and psychiatric disorders, and health care utilization. Overall, 1 063 723 post-9/11 veterans (Mean age=28.2 years, 14% women) were followed for 10 years on average. There were 4168 cases of AF (0.42/1000 person-years). Insomnia was associated with a 32% greater adjusted risk of AF (95% CI, 1.21-1.43), and veterans with insomnia showed AF onset up to 2 years earlier. Insomnia-AF associations were similar after accounting for health care utilization (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.27 [95% CI, 1.17-1.39]), excluding veterans with obstructive sleep apnea (aHR, 1.38 [95% CI, 1.24-1.53]), and among those with a sleep study (aHR, 1.26 [95% CI, 1.07-1.50]). Conclusions In younger adults, insomnia was independently associated with incident AF. Additional studies should determine if this association differs by sex and if behavioral or pharmacological treatment for insomnia attenuates AF risk.

Empagliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

AIMS: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often co-exist, yielding increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) complications including heart failure (HF). We assessed risk of cardiorenal outcomes, mortality and safety in patients with versus without COPD in the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial. METHODS: Patients (n = 7,020) with T2DM and CV disease (CVD) were treated with empagliflozin (10 mg or 25 mg) or placebo. Cox regression was used to assess COPD subgroup (placebo only) associations with, and treatment effects of empagliflozin versus placebo on first hospitalization for HF (HHF), CV death, all-cause mortality, incident/worsening nephropathy, and all-cause hospitalization. RESULTS: At baseline, patients with COPD (n = 707) had more HF and used insulin more frequently than those without COPD. During follow-up in the placebo group, those with baseline COPD had increased risk of HHF (HR 2.15 [95% CI 1.32, 3.49]), HHF/CV death (1.60 [1.10, 2.33]), incident/worsening nephropathy (1.68 [1.26, 2.24]), all-cause hospitalization (1.44 [1.19, 1.74]) and all-cause death (1.60 [1.09, 2.35]) compared to those without COPD. Empagliflozin consistently reduced all clinical outcomes, irrespective of COPD status (interaction p-values 0.14 to 0.96), with a confirmed safety profile. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with T2DM and CVD, COPD increased the risk of mortality and cardiorenal outcomes, including HF. Empagliflozin consistently reduced these outcomes versus placebo regardless of COPD, suggesting that empagliflozin's benefits in patients with T2DM and CVD are not mitigated by the presence of COPD.

A SAS macro for modelling periodic data using cosinor analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Cosinor analysis, developed by Franz Hallberg and colleagues in the 1960s, allows for the fitting of a cosine curve to data of a known period. Cosinor analysis is frequently used in the analysis of biological rhythm data. While software exists to perform these analyses, we are not aware of any published SAS procedures or macros which would facilitate them. METHODS: To meet this gap, we herein describe SAS macros which perform cosinor analyses that assume either normally or gamma distributed outcomes and fixed period. The macros can 1) produce datasets with cosinor parameters including acrophase, mesor, amplitude, nadir and test for rhythmicity 2) output datasets with fitted and observed values from the model, and 3) plot the resulting curve and underlying data. RESULTS: We demonstrate the use of these macros with data from our research on circadian rhythms of heart rate and sleep in critically ill patients. CONCLUSIONS: Cosinor analysis provides a parsimonious and intuitive set of estimates to summarize periodic data. We are hopeful that the publication of our macro will allow a wider spectrum of users to avail themselves of this technique.

Polysomnographic Phenotypes of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Incident Type 2 Diabetes: Results from the DREAM Study.

Rationale: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with cardiovascular disease and incident type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Seven OSA phenotypes, labeled on the basis of their most distinguishing polysomnographic features, have been shown to be differentially associated with incident cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the relevance of polysomnographic phenotypes for the risk of T2DM. Objectives: To assess whether polysomnographic phenotypes are associated with incident T2DM and to compare the predictive value of baseline polysomnographic phenotypes with the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) for T2DM. Methods: The study included 840 individuals without baseline diabetes from a multisite observational U.S. veteran cohort who underwent OSA evaluation between 2000 and 2004, with follow-up through 2012. The primary outcome was incident T2DM, defined as no diagnosis at baseline and a new physician diagnosis confirmed by fasting blood glucose >126 mg/dL during follow-up. Relationships between the seven polysomnographic phenotypes (1. mild, 2. periodic limb movements of sleep [PLMS], 3. non-rapid eye movement and poor sleep, 4. rapid eye movement and hypoxia, 5. hypopnea and hypoxia, 6. arousal and poor sleep, and 7. combined severe) and incident T2DM were investigated using Cox proportional hazards regression and competing risk regression models with and without adjustment for baseline covariates. Likelihood ratio tests were conducted to compare the predictive value of the phenotypes with the AHI. Results: During a median follow-up period of 61 months, 122 (14.5%) patients developed incident T2DM. After adjustment for baseline sociodemographics, fasting blood glucose, body mass index, comorbidities, and behavioral risk factors, hazard ratios among persons with "hypopnea and hypoxia" and "PLMS" phenotypes as compared with persons with "mild" phenotype were 3.18 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.53-6.61] and 2.26 (95% CI, 1.06-4.83) for incident T2DM, respectively. Mild OSA (5 ⩽ AHI < 15) (vs. no OSA) was directly associated with incident T2DM in both unadjusted and multivariable-adjusted regression models. The addition of polysomnographic phenotypes, but not AHI, to known T2DM risk factors greatly improved the predictive value of the computed prediction model. Conclusions: Polysomnographic phenotypes "hypopnea and hypoxia" and "PLMS" independently predict risk of T2DM among a predominantly male veteran population. Polysomnographic phenotypes improved T2DM risk prediction comared with the use of AHI.

Phenotypic Subtypes of OSA: A Challenge and Opportunity for Precision Medicine.

Current strategies for the management of OSA reflect a one-size-fits-all approach. Diagnosis and severity of OSA are based on the apnea-hypopnea index and treatment initiated with CPAP, followed by trials of alternatives (eg, oral appliances) if CPAP "fails." This approach does not consider the heterogeneity of individuals with OSA, reflected by varying risk factors, pathophysiological causes, clinical manifestations, and consequences. Recently, studies using analytic approaches such as cluster analysis have taken advantage of this heterogeneity to identify OSA phenotypes, or subtypes of patients with unique characteristics, that may enable more personalized approaches to prognostication and treatment. Examples include symptom-based subtypes such as "excessively sleepy" and "disturbed sleep" with differing impact of CPAP on symptoms and health-related quality of life. Polysomnographic subtypes, distinguished by respiratory event association with hypoxemia, arousals, or both, exhibit varying risks of cardiovascular disease and response to therapy. This review summarizes the findings from recent cluster analysis studies in sleep apnea and synthesizes common themes to describe the potential role (and limitations) of phenotypic subtypes in precision medicine for OSA. It also highlights future directions, including linking of phenotypes to clinically relevant outcomes, rigorous and transparent assessment of phenotype reproducibility, and need for tools that categorize patients into subtypes, to prospectively validate phenotype-based prognostication and treatment approaches. Finally, we highlight the critical need to include women and more racially/ethnically diverse populations in this area of research if we are to leverage the heterogeneity of OSA to improve patient lives.

Pilot Observational Study to Detect Diurnal Variation and Misalignment in Heart Rate Among Critically Ill Patients.

Circadian disruption is common in critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Understanding and treating circadian disruption in critical illness has significant potential to improve critical illness outcomes through improved cognitive, immune, cardiovascular, and metabolic function. Measurement of circadian alignment (i.e., circadian phase) can be resource-intensive as it requires frequent blood or urine sampling over 24 or more hours. Less cumbersome methods of assessing circadian alignment would advance investigations in this field. Thus, the objective of this study is to examine the feasibility of using continuous telemetry to assess diurnal variation in heart rate (HR) among medical ICU patients as a proxy for circadian alignment. In exploratory analyses, we tested for associations between misalignment of diurnal variation in HR and death during hospital admission. This was a prospective observational cohort study embedded within a prospective medical ICU biorepository. HR data were continuously collected (every 5 s) via telemetry systems for the duration of the medical ICU admission; the first 24 h of this data was analyzed. Patients were extensively characterized via medical record chart abstraction and patient interviews. Of the 56 patients with complete HR data, 48 (86%) had a detectable diurnal variation. Of these patients with diurnal variation, 39 (81%) were characterized as having the nadir of their HR outside of the normal range of 02:00-06:00 ("misalignment"). Interestingly, no deaths occurred in the patients with normally aligned diurnal variation; in contrast, there were seven deaths (out of 39 patients) in patients who had misaligned diurnal variation in HR. In an exploratory analysis, we found that the odds ratio of death for misaligned vs. aligned patients was increased at 4.38; however, this difference was not statistically significant (95% confidence interval 0.20-97.63). We conclude that diurnal variation in HR can be detected via continuous telemetric monitoring of critically ill patients. A majority of these patients with diurnal variation exhibited misalignment in their first 24 h of medical ICU admission. Exploratory analyses suggest possible associations between misalignment and death.

Associations between obstructive sleep apnea and prescribed opioids among veterans.

ABSTRACT: Sleep disruption caused by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may be associated with hyperalgesia and may contribute to poor pain control and use of prescription opioids. However, the relationship between OSA and opioid prescription is not well described. We examine this association using cross-sectional data from a national cohort of veterans from recent wars enrolled from October 1, 2001 to October 7, 2014. The primary outcome was the relative risk ratio (RRR) of receiving opioid prescriptions for acute (<90 days/year) and chronic (≥90 days/year) durations compared with no opioid prescriptions. The primary exposure was a diagnosis of OSA. We used multinomial logistic regression to control for factors that may affect diagnosis of OSA or receipt of opioid prescriptions. Of the 1,149,874 patients (mean age 38.0 ± 9.6 years) assessed, 88.1% had no opioid prescriptions, 9.4% had acute prescriptions, and 2.5% had chronic prescriptions. Ten percent had a diagnosis of OSA. Patients with OSA were more likely to be older, male, nonwhite, obese, current or former smokers, have higher pain intensity, and have medical and psychiatric comorbidities. Controlling for these differences, patients with OSA were more likely to receive acute (RRR 2.02 [95% confidence interval 1.98-2.06]) or chronic (RRR 2.15 [2.09-2.22]) opioids. Further dividing opioid categories by high vs low dosage did not yield substantially different results. Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with a two-fold likelihood of being prescribed opioids for pain. Clinicians should consider incorporating OSA treatment into multimodal pain management strategies; OSA as a target for pain management should be further studied.

The Impact of Empagliflozin on Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes: An Exploratory Analysis of the EMPA-REG OUTCOME Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of empagliflozin on the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and its effects on metabolic, cardiovascular (CV), and renal outcomes among participants with or without OSA in the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants with diabetes and CV disease were randomized to empagliflozin (10 and 25 mg) or placebo daily in addition to standard of care. OSA was assessed by investigator report using Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities version 18.0, and CV outcomes were independently adjudicated. Analyses were performed using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models. RESULTS: OSA was reported in 391 of 7,020 (5.6%) participants at baseline. Those with OSA were more likely to be male (83% vs. 71%) and to have moderate to severe obesity (BMI ≥35 kg/m2; 55% vs. 18%). Over a median of 3.1 years, empagliflozin had similar placebo-adjusted reductions in HbA1c, waist circumference, and systolic blood pressure, regardless of OSA status, but a larger effect on weight (adjusted mean ± SE difference at week 52: OSA vs. no OSA -2.9 ± 0.5 vs. -1.9 ± 0.1 kg). Incidence of 3-point major adverse CV events, CV death, heart failure hospitalization, and incident or worsening nephropathy in the placebo group was 1.2- to 2.0-fold higher for those with baseline OSA compared with those without. Empagliflozin significantly reduced the risk for outcomes regardless of OSA status (P-interaction all >0.05). Fifty patients reported a new diagnosis of OSA through 7 days after medication discontinuation, and this occurred less often with empagliflozin treatment (hazard ratio 0.48 [95% CI 0.27, 0.83]). CONCLUSIONS: In EMPA-REG OUTCOME, participants with OSA had greater comorbidity and higher frequency of CV and renal events. Empagliflozin had favorable effects on risk factors and CV and renal outcomes regardless of preexisting OSA and may also reduce the risk for new-onset OSA.