Joint detection of miR‐149‐3p and hepcidin predicts the onset of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in obese patients

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a potentially fatal sleep respiratory disorder, and hepcidin has been found to be related with OSAS onset and severity. This study aimed to examine the serum expression of microRNA‐149‐3p (miR‐149‐3p) and hepcidin in OSAS patients, and evaluate the predictive value of miR‐149‐3p and hepcidin for OSAS occurrence in obese population. METHODS: This study analyzed the data from 212 OSAS patients and 120 control individuals. OSAS severity was evaluated by apnea hypopnea index (AHI) from polysomnography. Serum miR‐149‐3p was examined using reverse transcription quantitative PCR, and hepcidin and inflammatory cytokines were measured using ELISA kits. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the predictive value of miR‐142‐3p and hepcidin for OSAS in obese population, and ROC curve was plotted to assess the predictive accuracy. RESULTS: Serum miR‐149‐3p and hepcidin were increased in OSAS patients, especially in the severe cases, and had diagnostic potential to distinguish OSAS. High miR‐149‐3p and hepcidin were positively correlated with OSAS patients' inflammatory cytokines. Obese OSAS patients had the highest miR‐149‐3p and hepcidin levels, and the two molecules had predictive value of OSAS present in obese population, and the combination of miR‐149‐3p and hepcidin showed the highest predictive accuracy. CONCLUSION: Serum miR‐149‐3p and hepcidin levels were elevated in OSAS patients and correlated with disease severity and systemic inflammation. miR‐149‐3p and hepcidin levels have diagnostic value to distinguish OSAS, exhibited predictive value for OSAS in obese population, and the joint detection of the two molecules showed the highest predictive accuracy.