Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with a significantly higher risk for stroke, regardless of CPAP device use, new data suggested.

 

However the study, which was published recently in Neurology, found this was only the case in White people. Stroke risk among Black individuals with OSA was found to be lower in those who used CPAP machines vs those who did not.

 

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts used data on 22,192 people from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study, a US population-based cohort of Black and White people with no history of stroke at baseline (mean age: 64 years; 38% Black individuals).

 

They found that 11% of overall participants had diagnosed OSA at baseline.

 

Participants were followed for a mean of 12 years, and the researchers adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic and stroke risk factors.

 

During the follow-up period, 969 participants (4.4%) experienced a stroke. After adjusting for confounders, having high OSA risk and diagnosed OSA were associated with higher risks for incident stroke in White individuals (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.22; 95% CI, 1.01-1.47 and aHR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.04-1.70, respectively) but not in Black individuals.

 

Among those with diagnosed OSA, CPAP use was associated with a higher risk for incident stroke in White individuals (aHR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.05-1.80) but a lower stroke risk in Black individuals (aHR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.14-0.90) compared with no CPAP use.

 

Snoring was not associated with incident stroke in either Black or White individuals.