Abstract
BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is an established risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. This study aimed to explore the association between OSAHS severity and plasma amino acid profiles. METHODS: In this cross-sectional, single-center study, 75 patients undergoing overnight polysomnography were enrolled and stratified into no/mild (AHI < 15/h) and moderate/severe (AHI ≥ 15/h) OSAHS groups. Plasma amino acid levels were measured using mass spectrometry. Correlation and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to assess associations between sleep parameters and amino acids, adjusting for age and BMI. RESULTS: When compared with the no/mild OSAHS group, patients with moderate/severe OSAHS had significantly higher levels of tryptophan, tyrosine, and glutamate (adjusted p < 0.05). After multiple testing correction, AHI showed significant positive correlations with tryptophan, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, valine, and glutamate. ODI was correlated with isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, valine, and glutamate. In multivariable analysis, AHI was independently associated with higher levels of leucine (β = 0.416, p = 0.022) and isoleucine (β = 0.261, p = 0.024), while in regression models that included ODI and adjusted for BMI, methionine, glutamate and tyrosine were significantly associated with BMI, but not with ODI. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that OSAHS is associated with altered amino acid metabolism, particularly involving tryptophan and branched-chain amino acids. Such metabolic alterations appear to be linked to OSAHS severity independent of obesity. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and assess the therapeutic potential of targeting amino acid metabolism in OSAHS.