Background: Central obesity is the most prevalent dietary illness in people.  It predisposes a person to a complicated health issues, including stroke, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). OSA is a chronic, progressive condition that adversely affects quality of life. Due to lower lung capacity and tension on the pharynx, the degree of upper airway obstruction and hypoxemia owing to OSA seems to correlate more strongly with the amount of visceral fat (abdominal adiposity) than other clinical indicators of obesity.
Objectives:  Studying the relationship between central obesity and OSA incidence and severity, as well as the underlying risk factors between their association. Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 364 adult subjects with central obesity who visited the Endocrinology Clinic of Benha University Hospital, Egypt, from February 2023 to May 2023. All participants were subjected to measurement of weight, height and waist circumference (WC), recording of blood pressure, laboratory investigations including: HBA1c, lipid profile, liver and kidney function tests and overnight polysomnography to assess OSA.
Results: OSA was present in 308 (84.6%). OSA severity was closely related to male sex. Moderate and sever OSA was significantly associated with male sex, old age, higher WC, higher BMI, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, triglycerides & LDL. Logistic regression analyses between different variables and OSA showed that age was the most significant predictor for OSA (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Prevalence and severity of OSA among candidates with central obesity was very high. Age, waist circumference, hypertension, disturbed lipid profile and T2DM were significantly associated with increased prevalence and severity of OSA among centrally obese individuals. So, early in the course of their follow-up, healthcare professionals should examine centrally obese patients for OSA.