OSA linked to thromboembolic event risk among women with PCOS

Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) may have an increased risk of thromboembolic events in the presence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), according to a retrospective study.

Researchers used data from the TriNetX US Collaborative Network and identified women age 18–45 years with a diagnosis of PCOS. They used propensity scores to establish a matched cohort of women with vs without OSA. Outcomes included pulmonary embolism (PE) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurring after a 1-year reference period.

A total of 20,052 women were included in the analyses, 10,026 each in the OSA and no-OSA groups. In Cox proportional hazards models, PE incidence was higher in the OSA group than in the no-OSA group, at 2.88 vs 1.48 per 1,000 person-years (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.94, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.49–2.53; hazard ratio [HR], 1.95, 95 percent CI, 1.50–2.54).

VTE incidence was also higher in the OSA group at 3.74 per 1,000 person-years vs 2.87 per 1,000 person-years in the no-OSA group (IRR, 1.30, 95 percent CI, 1.06–1.60; HR, 1.32, 95 percent CI, 1.07–1.61).

The associations persisted across clinically relevant subgroups and increased over long-term follow-up.

The findings highlight the importance of OSA screening and enhanced thromboembolic risk assessment in women with PCOS.