Obstructive sleep apnea and the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes

OBJECTIVE: We examined the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including low birthweight (LBW), preterm birth, small for gestational age (SGA), cesarean section (CS), low Apgar score (at 5 minutes after delivery), and preeclampsia in pregnant women with and without obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). STUDY DESIGN: Our subjects included 791 women with OSA and 3955 randomly selected women without OSA. We performed conditional logistic regression analyses to examine the risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes between women with and without OSA. RESULTS: Compared with women without OSA, adjusted odds ratios for LBW, preterm birth, SGA infants, CS, and preeclampsia in women with OSA were 1.76 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28-2.40), 2.31 (95% CI, 1.77-3.01), 1.34 (95% CI, 1.09-1.66), 1.74 (95% CI, 1.48-2.04), and 1.60 (95% CI, 2.16-11.26), respectively. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women with OSA are at increased risk for having LBW, preterm, and SGA infants, CS, and preeclampsia, compared with pregnant women without OSA.