Risk factor panels associated with hypertension in obstructive sleep apnea patients with different body mass indexes

•Hypertension as a comorbidity was more common in obese OSA patients.•The risk factor panels associated with hypertension in OSA patients varied by BMI.•Apnea or hypopnea was an independent risk factor for hypertension in all BMI groups.

Although hypertension (HTN), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and obesity frequently co-occur, the precise role of obesity in this interrelationship is not completely understood. A total of 727 OSA patients were assigned to body mass index (BMI) <25 (27.6%; n = 201), 25≤ BMI <29.99 (53.4%; n = 388), and BMI ≥30 (19%; n = 138). HTN risk factors in each group were evaluated. A total of 244 (33.6%) patients exhibited co-morbid HTN, of whom 20.5% (50/244), 52.9% (129/244), and 26.6% (65/244) were distributed between the BMI <25, 25≤ BMI <29.99, and BMI ≥30 groups, respectively. Multiple logistic regression indicated that age, male gender, triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) scores were HTN risk factors for the BMI<25 group. In the 25≤ BMI <29.99 group, risk factors were age, BMI, diabetes, and AHI. Finally, in the BMI ≥30 group, risk factors were age, diabetes, TG, LDL-C and AHI. These results demonstrate that different risk factor panels were associated with HTN in OSA patients with different BMIs.