The association between body mass index and risk of obstructive sleep apnea among patients with HIV

Although several studies show a positive association between body mass index (BMI) and a higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in the general population, there are limited data on that in patients living with HIV (PLHIV). The objective of the current study is to determine the prevalence of high risk for OSA and the association between BMI and OSA in PLHIV.

The study was conducted on 316 confirmed HIV cases aged ≥ 18 years who attended consulting centers in Tehran during 2019. For the diagnosis of OSA we used the Persian version of the modified Berlin questionnaire that includes ten questions broken down into three categories. A high risk for breathing problems was defined if the total score is ≥ 2. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between BMI and OSA risk groups.

Among PLHIV, 52.1% of men and 41.6% of women were considered as high risk for breathing problems during sleep at the time of the study. Patients with a higher risk for breathing problems had significantly higher BMI levels compared to those categorized as low‑risk levels (25.2 vs. 24.3 kg/m2 ). Each unit increase in the BMI increased the odds of being high risk for OSA by 6% in the multivariable model. (odds ratio [OR]: 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06: 1.01–1.13). Considering BMI categories, compared to the normal weight, being obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 ) increased the high risk for OSA (OR [95% CI]: 2.54 [1.10–5.89]).

We observed a significant association between general obesity and prevalence of OSA among PLHIV.