ABSTRACT
Aims: To assess whether continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy reduces major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Methods and results: A total of 235 articles were recovered using MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane library (inception-December 2016) and references contained in the identified articles. Seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected for final analysis. Analysis of 4268 patients demonstrated non-significant 26% relative risk reduction in MACE with CPAP [risk ratio (RR) 0.74; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.47-1.17; P = 0.19, I2 = 48%]. A series of sensitivity analyses suggested that increased CPAP usage time yielded significant risk reduction in MACE. and stroke. Subgroup analysis revealed that CPAP adherence time ≥4 hours (h)/night reduced the risk of MACE by 57% (RR 0.43; 95% CI 0.23-0.80; P = 0.01, I2 = 0%). CPAP therapy showed no beneficial effect on myocardial infarction (MI), all-cause mortality, atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF), or heart failure (HF) (P > 0.05). CPAP had positive effect on mood and reduced the daytime sleepiness [Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS): mean difference (MD) -2.50, 95% CI - 3.62, -1.39; P < 0.001, I2 = 81%]. Conclusion: CPAP therapy might reduce MACE and stroke among subjects with CPAP time exceeding 4 h/night. Additional randomized trials mandating adequate CPAP time adherence are required to confirm this impression.