Prothrombotic Factors in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

Background: Previous studies revealed that the prothrombotic factors in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) remain controversial. Aim/Objective: The aim of the systematic review is to elucidate the relationship between prothrombotic factors and OSA. Materials and Methods: This systematic review was performed under the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. The literature we investigated was extracted from 4 main medical databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Chinese databases) as of February 2020. We used significant weighted mean differences (SMDs) with 95% CIs from random-effects model. Results: A total of 15 studies comprising 2190 patients were available for the meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that the levels of fibrinogen (SMD = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.26 to 1.65, P = .000), vascular endothelial growth factor (SMD = 0.37, 95% CI = -0.90 to 1.63, P = .000), and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (SMD = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.29 to 0.92, P = .040) increased in patients with OSA. There were no statistical differences between groups in terms of d-dimer (P = .108) and platelet counts (P = .233). Subgroup analyses demonstrated that specimen types and age could account for the heterogeneity. Conclusions and Significance: This meta-analysis indicated the relationship between prothrombotic factors in OSA hypopnea. Obstructive sleep apnea-related effects may underline the importance of considering the dysfunction of the hemostatic system. The prothrombotic factors in OSA can influence making a choice of appropriate therapy.