Increased neck soft tissue mass and worsening of obstructive sleep apnoea after growth hormone treatment in men with abdominal obesity : Growth hormone and obstructive sleep apnoea in abdominally obese men

• Background Risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are male gender, obesity and abnormalities in neck soft tissue mass. OSA is associated with both growth hormone (GH) excess and severe GH deficiency in adults. Adults with abdominal obesity have markedly suppressed GH secretion. Aim To study the effect of GH treatment on OSA in abdominally obese men with impaired glucose tolerance. Patients and Methods Forty men with abdominal obesity and glucose intolerance were randomized in a prospective, 12-month, double-blind trial to receive either GH or placebo. The treatment groups had similar BMI and waist circumference. Overnight polysomnography and computed tomography to assess muscle and fat distribution in the neck and abdomen were performed at baseline and after 12 months. Results GH treatment increased insulin-like growth-factor-1 from (mean (SD)) 168(17) to 292(28) μg/L, the apnea-hypopnea index from (n/h) 31(20) to 43(25) and oxygen-desaturation index from (n/h) 18(14) to 29(21) (p=0.0001, 0.001, 0.002). Neck transverse diameter, circumference and total cross-sectional area (p=0.007, 0.01, 0.02) increased while abdominal visceral adipose tissue (p=0.007) was reduced. No between-group differences in total sleep time, REM sleep, non-REM sleep and time spent in supine position were found. The Epworth sleepiness scale score was unchanged. Conclusions GH treatment increased the severity of OSA in abdominally obese men. The possible mechanism appears to be reflected by the GH-induced increase of measures of neck volume. The present results, to some extent, argue against that low GH/IGF-I activity is a primary cause of OSA in abdominally obese men.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Growth hormone treatment; obstructive sleep apnoea; abdominal obesity

GH-IGF-1 axis

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)