Incidence disparities of obstructive sleep apnea-associated lung cancer by gender; Korean National Health Insurance data analysis

Marn Joon Park; Kyung-Do Han; Jae Hoon Cho; Ji Ho Choi

doi:10.3389/fonc.2023.1214279

Incidence disparities of obstructive sleep apnea-associated lung cancer by gender; Korean National Health Insurance data analysis

Front Oncol. 2023 Jul 19:13:1214279. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1214279. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Marn Joon Park¹, Kyung-Do Han², Jae Hoon Cho³, Ji Ho Choi⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Inha University Hospital, School of Medicine, Inha University, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Soongsil University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Bucheon Hospital, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Bucheon, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is known to increase the risk of various cancers. By analyzing the Korea National Health Insurance Service (KNHIS) registry, the impact of OSA on the lung cancer incidence was analyzed in a retrospective cohort group.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of adult patients newly registered with OSA in the KNHIS data from 2007 to 2017 was included and observed until December 2019 (12 years). The main outcome measure was newly diagnosed lung cancer. The control group was set with age and sex that matched those in the OSA group.

Results: The hazard ratio (HR) of OSA for lung cancer incidence showed a significantly reduced HR of 0.87 (95% CI, 0.82-0.93). The observed significance of this finding was limited to male OSA patients [HR, 0.84 (95% CI, 0.78-0.90)], while no significant association was found in female OSA patients [HR, 1.05 (95% CI, 0.91-1.21)], irrespective of their age.

Discussion: OSA patients have a lower risk of developing lung cancer, but this risk reduction is gender-specific, as female OSA patients do not show a reduction in hazard ratio.

Keywords: incidence; lung cancer; national health programs; obstructive sleep apnea; sleep apnea.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Soonchunhyang University Research Fund.