Sex Differences in Neurovascular Control: Implications for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have a heightened risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, namely hypertension. While seminal evidence indicates a causal role for sympathetic nerve activity in the hypertensive phenotype commonly observed in patients with OSA, no studies have investiga...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-08-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/17/13094 |
| _version_ | 1797582456917852160 |
|---|---|
| author | Joshua M. Bock Ian M. Greenlund Virend K. Somers Sarah E. Baker |
| author_facet | Joshua M. Bock Ian M. Greenlund Virend K. Somers Sarah E. Baker |
| author_sort | Joshua M. Bock |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have a heightened risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, namely hypertension. While seminal evidence indicates a causal role for sympathetic nerve activity in the hypertensive phenotype commonly observed in patients with OSA, no studies have investigated potential sex differences in the sympathetic regulation of blood pressure in this population. Supporting this exploration are large-scale observational data, as well as controlled interventional studies in healthy adults, indicating that sleep disruption increases blood pressure to a greater extent in females relative to males. Furthermore, females with severe OSA demonstrate a more pronounced hypoxic burden (i.e., disease severity) during rapid eye movement sleep when sympathetic nerve activity is greatest. These findings would suggest that females are at greater risk for the hemodynamic consequences of OSA and related sleep disruption. Accordingly, the purpose of this review is three-fold: (1) to review the literature linking sympathetic nerve activity to hypertension in OSA, (2) to highlight recent experimental data supporting the hypothesis of sex differences in the regulation of sympathetic nerve activity in OSA, and (3) to discuss the potential sex differences in peripheral adrenergic signaling that may contribute to, or offset, cardiovascular risk in patients with OSA. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:22:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-745b607be44d4a2e8c038e16c55ef49d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:22:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-745b607be44d4a2e8c038e16c55ef49d2023-11-19T08:12:20ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672023-08-0124171309410.3390/ijms241713094Sex Differences in Neurovascular Control: Implications for Obstructive Sleep ApneaJoshua M. Bock0Ian M. Greenlund1Virend K. Somers2Sarah E. Baker3Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55901, USADepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55901, USADepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55901, USADepartment of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55901, USAPatients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have a heightened risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, namely hypertension. While seminal evidence indicates a causal role for sympathetic nerve activity in the hypertensive phenotype commonly observed in patients with OSA, no studies have investigated potential sex differences in the sympathetic regulation of blood pressure in this population. Supporting this exploration are large-scale observational data, as well as controlled interventional studies in healthy adults, indicating that sleep disruption increases blood pressure to a greater extent in females relative to males. Furthermore, females with severe OSA demonstrate a more pronounced hypoxic burden (i.e., disease severity) during rapid eye movement sleep when sympathetic nerve activity is greatest. These findings would suggest that females are at greater risk for the hemodynamic consequences of OSA and related sleep disruption. Accordingly, the purpose of this review is three-fold: (1) to review the literature linking sympathetic nerve activity to hypertension in OSA, (2) to highlight recent experimental data supporting the hypothesis of sex differences in the regulation of sympathetic nerve activity in OSA, and (3) to discuss the potential sex differences in peripheral adrenergic signaling that may contribute to, or offset, cardiovascular risk in patients with OSA.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/17/13094sympatheticneuralblood pressuresexadrenergic |
| spellingShingle | Joshua M. Bock Ian M. Greenlund Virend K. Somers Sarah E. Baker Sex Differences in Neurovascular Control: Implications for Obstructive Sleep Apnea International Journal of Molecular Sciences sympathetic neural blood pressure sex adrenergic |
| title | Sex Differences in Neurovascular Control: Implications for Obstructive Sleep Apnea |
| title_full | Sex Differences in Neurovascular Control: Implications for Obstructive Sleep Apnea |
| title_fullStr | Sex Differences in Neurovascular Control: Implications for Obstructive Sleep Apnea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sex Differences in Neurovascular Control: Implications for Obstructive Sleep Apnea |
| title_short | Sex Differences in Neurovascular Control: Implications for Obstructive Sleep Apnea |
| title_sort | sex differences in neurovascular control implications for obstructive sleep apnea |
| topic | sympathetic neural blood pressure sex adrenergic |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/17/13094 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT joshuambock sexdifferencesinneurovascularcontrolimplicationsforobstructivesleepapnea AT ianmgreenlund sexdifferencesinneurovascularcontrolimplicationsforobstructivesleepapnea AT virendksomers sexdifferencesinneurovascularcontrolimplicationsforobstructivesleepapnea AT sarahebaker sexdifferencesinneurovascularcontrolimplicationsforobstructivesleepapnea |