Aim: To determine and compare gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) and fibrinogen among obese males with and without obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Second objective was to investigate correlation between blood pressure and GGT.

Methodology: Sixty-four obese males aged 20-45 years with BMI > 25kg/m² were included by convenience sampling. The study was conducted, after obtaining ethical approval from IRB, at the Department of Physiology, Post Graduate Medical Institute, Lahore from August 2014 to May 2015. Participants having acute or chronic inflammatory conditions were excluded. Participants were screened for OSA by Berlin and STOP BANG questionnaires. Diagnosis of OSA was made by overnight portable pulse oximetry. The participants were divided into two groups. Group I had 32 obese males with OSA. Group II contained 32 obese males without OSA. After an overnight fasting of 10-12 hours blood samples were drawn. Serum fibrinogen and GGT were measured by spectrophotometer. The data was analyzed using SPSS-22. Quantitative variables were compared between the two groups by Mann-Whitney U test. Spearman correlation was used to correlate blood pressure and GGT among the participants.

Results: Fibrinogen was significantly raised (p=0.015) in obese males with OSA. Systolic blood pressure (p=0.003), diastolic blood pressure (p=0.001) and mean arterial blood pressure (p<0.001) showed strong positive correlation with GGT in obese males with OSA.

Conclusion: Proinflammatory, procoagulant and proatherogenic marker fibrinogen levels were significantly raised in obese otherwise healthy males with OSA. Oxidative stress marker GGT showed strong positive correlation with blood pressure in obese males with OSA.

Keywords: Fibrinogen, gamma glutamyl transferase, inflammation, obstructive sleep apnea, oxidative stress