CPAP reduces BP and cortisol levels in patients with sleep apnea: Study

UK: CPAP treatment in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients is associated with lower blood pressure and cortisol levels, show results from a meta-analysis of 637 individuals. The study results appear in the journal Clinical Endocrinology. 

Hypertension, OSA, and obesity frequently coexist and are associated with increased levels of cortisol. When investigating suspected Cushing's syndrome and hypertension, identification, and treatment of such patients become important. Studies on the impact of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on cortisol and blood pressure have been conducted but are limited by a small sample size and have yielded conflicting results. 

Against the above background, Thang S. Han, University of London, Surrey, UK, and colleagues aimed to document changes in the levels of cortisol and blood pressure in response to CPAP treatment of OSA.

For this purpose, the researchers conducted a meta-analysis using RevMan (v5.3) and expressed in standardized mean difference (SMD) for catecholamines and mean difference for systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The quality of the studies was evaluated using standard tools for assessing the risk of bias.