Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Activity in Obese Men with and without Sleep Apnea: Effects of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy

Abstract

Nonpsychologically distressed, normally sleeping, obese men had low cortisol secretion. The cortisol secretion was slightly activated by SA and returned to low by CPAP use. The low cortisol secretion in obesity through its inferred hyposecretion of hypothalamic CRH might predispose the obese to sleep apnea.