Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of OSA in the multi-ethnic population in Mauritius and its association to ischemic ECG abnormalities.

Method A population-based health survey within the Mauritius NCD study was performed in 2009, in 5,952 individuals aged 19-78 years, who had complete data on anthropometry, blood pressure, glucose tolerance test and health questionnaire data. OSA was evaluated by the Berlin questionnaire and the cohort was divided into snorers and non-snorers. A 12-lead ECG was registered in individuals aged 35-75 years (n=4452, 48.0% snorers, 52.0% non-snorers). Ischemic ECG changes (I-ECG) were categorised according to the Whitehall criteria.

Results Of the participants 44.2% were snorers (n=2633), 40.5% had hypertension and 26.9% were obese. 54.3% of snorers and 7.8% of non-snorers had a high risk for OSA (OSA-high) (p<0.001). Prevalence of diabetes among snorers with OSA-high was 36.6% vs 20.6% in OSA-low (p<0.001) Same pattern seen in non-snorers. There was no ethnic difference in OSA risk.

Individuals with OSA-high had a higher prevalence of I-ECG compared with OSA-low, both among snorers (26.6% vs 18.3%, p<0.001) and non-snorers (29.5% vs 20.8%, p=0.002). In a multivariate regression adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, history of CVD and known CVD risk factors, OSA was associated with I-ECG among snorers (OR 1.27, 95%CI 1.02-1.59), whereas no association was found between OSA and I-ECG in non-snorers.

Conclusion In this population-based sample, snoring individuals had a higher prevalence of high OSA risk compared with non-snorers. A high OSA-risk was associated with ischemic ECG changes among snorers.