Relationship between Pulmonary Artery Diameter and Pulmonary to Aortic Artery Diameter Ratio in High Risk Individuals for Obstructive Sleep Apnea without Pulmonary Artery Hypertension Based on the Berlin Questionnaire

BACKGROUND: A significant association has been found between the pulmonary artery (PA) diameter and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). We aimed to evaluate the relationship between the diameters of the PA trunk and aortic artery with their ratio as PAH markers in high risk cases for OSA based on the Berlin questionnaire without PAH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case-control study included 161 non-PAH patients admitted to a multi-slice CT scan ward. Filling out the Berlin questionnaire, the patients were divided into high and low risk cases for OSA. The diameters of the PA trunk and aortic ascending aorta and their ratio were assessed using the multi-slice CT scan. RESULTS: The PA to aortic ratios in the case and control groups were 0.89±0.17 and 0.88±0.17, respectively, which all were non-significant. With regard to gender, the PA diameter was significantly lower among males in the control group than in the case group (P=0.034). The mean PA to aortic ratio was slightly higher but statistically non-significant in the case group than in the control group. The aortic diameter showed a statistically significant increase by age in the case group (r=0.374, P=0.003) compared to the other group. However, the PA diameter increased significantly by age in both groups (r=0.184, P=0.020). CONCLUSION: The PA diameter can be considered as a predicting factor for future cardiovascular diseases in high risk males for OSA based on the Berlin questionnaire without PAH. More studies are required to confirm these findings.