Impact of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Obesity on Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1-alpha Protein Level

Abdel-Aziz, Rehab H.; Dongol, Eptehal; Ahmed, Omyma Galal; Hassan, Mohammed; Hamdan, Fatma Rabea A.; Toghan, Rana

doi:10.21608/svuijm.2025.366020.2138

Impact of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Obesity on Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1-alpha Protein Level

Document Type : Original research articles

Authors

¹ Physiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.

² Chest Department, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.

³ Physiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.

⁴ Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.

10.21608/svuijm.2025.366020.2138

Abstract

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and obesity lead to a hypoxic state, increasing the hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1-α) level to achieve cellular adaptation.
Objectives: To clarify the correlation between HIF 1-α level with both OSA severity and obesity.
Patients and methods: A case-control study was conducted on patients attending the sleep disorders unit at South Valley University Hospital from March 2022 to July 2023. 64 patients were diagnosed by a standard nocturnal polysomnography (PSG). A blood sample was taken to detect HIF 1-α level.
Results: Considering the HIF 1-α level, our study disclosed no significant difference between controls and OSA patients (P = 0.92), while there was a statistically considerable difference between different OSA groups (P = 0.001). Also, there are statistically significant positive correlations between HIF 1-α serum level with all of the following, AHI (r = 0.381, P = 0.008), the number of desaturation index (ODI) (r = 0.51, P < 0.001). and waist circumference (WC) (r = 0.291, P = 0.045).
Conclusion: OSA severity is associated with an increase in HIF-1α levels and neck and waist circumference reinforces the role of obesity and fat distribution in OSA pathophysiology.

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