ArticleSleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung2019
Sleep apnea and galectin-3: possible sex-specific relationship.
Article in Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Role of galectin-3 as a biomarker in obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2023Pooled it
- Cardiac consequences of intermittent hypoxia: a matter of dose? A systematic review and meta-analysis in rodents.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2022Pooled it
- Galectin-3 in Cardiovascular Health: A Narrative Review Based on Life's Essential 8 and Life's Simple 7 Frameworks.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- Enough is enough: strict hypopnea criteria exacerbate sleep-related health disparities in females.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2025Article
- Can Galectin-3 Be Used as a Predictor of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Severity: Insights from High-Volume Patient Single Center.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Relationship Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Enuresis in Children: Current Perspectives and Beyond.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Review
- The Modulation of Adipokines, Adipomyokines, and Sleep Disorders on Carcinogenesis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Sex-specific associations of cardiorespiratory fitness and galectin-3 in the general population.ESC heart failure · 2022Article
- Changes in Left Heart Geometry, Function, and Blood Serum Biomarkers in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea after Treatment with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Article
- Article
- Association Between Sleep Disordered Breathing and Left Ventricular Function: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the ECHO-SOL Ancillary Study.Circulation. Cardiovascular imaging · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeSleep apnea is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Elevated plasma galectin-3 levels, a biomarker associated with myocardial fibrosis, are also associated with adverse cardiovascular events, including heart failure. Our objective was to determine the relationship between severity of sleep apnea and plasma levels of galectin-3 and to determine whether this relationship was modified by sex.
methodsWe performed a cross-sectional study of 471 Mexican Americans from Starr County, TX who underwent an overnight, in-home sleep evaluation, and plasma measurement of galectin-3. Severity of sleep apnea was based on apnea hypopnea index (AHI). Multivariable linear regression modeling was used to determine the association between categories of sleep apnea and galectin-3. We also tested for interactions by sex.
resultsThe mean age was 53 years, and 74% of the cohort was female. The prevalence of moderate to severe sleep apnea (AHI > 15 apnea-hypopnea events per hour) was 36.7%. Moderate to severe sleep apnea was associated with increased levels of galectin-3 in the entire population, but we identified a statistically significant interaction between galectin-3 levels and category of sleep apnea by sex (p for interaction = 0.02). Plasma galectin levels were significantly higher in women with moderate or severe sleep apnea than women with no/mild sleep apnea (multivariable adjusted p < 0.001), but not in men (p = 0.5).
conclusionsSleep apnea is associated elevated galectin-3 levels in women but not men. Our findings highlight a possible sex-specific relationship between sleep apnea and galectin-3, a biomarker of potential myocardial fibrosis that has been associated with increased cardiovascular risk.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.