Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in whole spectrum chronic kidney disease patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder among chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, associated with considerable morbidity. Various studies from around the globe have reported different prevalence rates. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the prevalence of OSA and quantify the relationship between OSA and mortality risk in patients with CKD. Four databases were systematically searched, and additional references to relevant articles were manually searched. The prevalence of OSA and the mortality risk based on random-effects models were assessed using percentages and hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). In addition, the heterogeneity between studies was assessed using I2 statistics. A total of 44 literature (47 studies with 223,967 participants) met the eligibility criteria for the meta-analysis. The results showed that the prevalence of OSA in CKD patients was reported to be 39.3% (95% CI, 32.3-46.7). Among study participants in different age groups, the highest prevalence of OSA was found in CKD respondents aged 60 years or older, at 47.1% (95% CI 34.4-60.3). Of the eight literature (10 cohorts) that provided survival data, the pooled estimates indicated a 26.5% (HR: 1.265; 95% CI 1.021-1.568) higher mortality risk in subjects with OSA than CKD patients without OSA. This systematic review and meta-analysis found that more than 1/3 of CKD patients have comorbid OSA, which increases the risk of early death in CKD patients. These results should help policymakers to provide adequate healthcare for this population. CRD42023465497