BACKGROUND Although lifestyle changes have been investigated as a therapeutic choice in regard to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity, data exploring associations between apnea and hypopnea indices and dietary habits are scarce. OBJECTIVE The aim was to investigate possible relationships between apnea and hypopnea indices and red meat intake in a cohort of Greek patients with mild or moderate to severe OSA evaluated by polysomnography. DESIGN This is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected from November 2014 through July 2018. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING The sample consisted of 243 patients (21 to 70 years old) who were recently diagnosed with OSA, by overnight attended polysomnography in the Sleep Disorders Center of "Evangelismos" Hospital, Athens Medical School (Greece). The patients included were free of other chronic diseases and had not changed their dietary habits for at least 6 months before evaluation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Information on participants' dietary intake, food group consumption, physical activity, smoking, sleep habits, and anthropometric measures were collected. Dietary intake was evaluated by food frequency questionnaire and 24-hour dietary recalls. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was also evaluated using the Mediterranean Diet Score. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED General linear models were used to examine the relation between red meat intake and sleep parameters, while adjusting for potential confounders. Multiple logistic regression was also applied to estimate the association between red meat intake and the likelihood of severe OSA. RESULTS Higher intakes of total red meat and unprocessed red meat were associated with higher values of apnea and hypopnea indices, after controlling for age, sex, waist circumference, socioeconomic parameters, smoking, physical activity, adequacy of nighttime sleep, and intake of foods or food components in the Mediterranean diet other than red meat (P trend for increasing quartiles of intake ≤0.02). Compared with patients in the lowest quartile of energy-adjusted total red meat intake (≤0.59 servings/day per 1,000 kcal), patients in the highest quartile (≥1.18 servings/day) had three times higher likelihood of having severe OSA (odds ratio: 3.09, 95% CI: 1.17 to 8.14). CONCLUSIONS The results provide evidence of a positive association between total red meat and unprocessed red meat intake with apnea or hypopnea indices and suggest that red meat consumption is associated with OSA severity.

中文翻译：

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阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停患者红肉摄入量与睡眠参数的关系

背景虽然生活方式改变已被研究作为阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停 (OSA) 严重程度的治疗选择，但探索呼吸暂停和呼吸不足指数与饮食习惯之间关联的数据很少。目的 旨在通过多导睡眠图评估一组患有轻度或中度至重度 OSA 的希腊患者，研究呼吸暂停和低通气指数与红肉摄入量之间的可能关系。设计 这是一项横断面研究。数据收集时间为 2014 年 11 月至 2018 年 7 月。 参与者/设置 样本包括 243 名最近被诊断为 OSA 的患者（21 至 70 岁），他们在雅典医学“Evangelismos”医院的睡眠障碍中心进行夜间多导睡眠监测学校（希腊）。纳入的患者无其他慢性病，且在评估前至少 6 个月未改变饮食习惯。主要结果测量收集了有关参与者饮食摄入、食物组消耗、身体活动、吸烟、睡眠习惯和人体测量的信息。通过食物频率问卷和 24 小时饮食回忆评估膳食摄入量。还使用地中海饮食评分评估了对地中海饮食的依从性。执行的统计分析 一般线性模型用于检查红肉摄入量和睡眠参数之间的关系，同时调整潜在的混杂因素。还应用多元逻辑回归来估计红肉摄入量与严重 OSA 的可能性之间的关联。结果 在控制了年龄、性别、腰围、社会经济参数、吸烟、体力活动、夜间睡眠充足和食物摄入量后，较高的总红肉和未加工红肉摄入量与较高的呼吸暂停和低通气指数值相关。地中海饮食中除红肉以外的食物成分（增加四分位数摄入量的 P 趋势≤0.02）。与能量调整后总红肉摄入量最低四分位数（≤0.59 份/天/1,000 kcal）的患者相比，最高四分位数（≥1.18 份/天）的患者患重度 OSA 的可能性高出三倍（优势比） : 3.09, 95% CI: 1.17 到 8.14)。