Trial Lecture – time and place
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Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Virend Somers, Mayo Clinic, Center for Clinical and Translational Science
- Second opponent: Associate professor Lars Erik Laugsand, Faculty of Medicine and Health Services, NTNU, St. Olavs hospital
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor Yvonne Böttcher, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Professor Bjørnar Hassel, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor Torbjørn Omland, University of Oslo
Summary
Cardiac troponins are sensitive and specific markers of subclinical myocardial injury
and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in the general
population. Cardiac troponins are elevated in obstructive sleep apnea, which, only
after insomnia, is the second most common sleep disorder in the general population.
Both insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea are associated with all major
cardiovascular risk factors and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the
mechanisms of these associations remain unclear and cardiac biomarkers are
currently not used in the risk assessment of individuals with sleep apnea or other
sleep disorders.
The candidate has compared the prognostic ability of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) with an inflammation biomarker (CRP) in the general population and investigated whether cTnI is elevated in individuals with insomnia symptoms or associated with novel parameters of desaturation severity and duration.
The results demonstrate that cTnI is an excellent prognostic marker of cardiovascular risk in the general population. It is not elevated in individuals with insomnia but is associated with both traditional and novel parameters of obstructive sleep apnea. Therefore, the findings presented in this thesis indicate that obstructive sleep apnea but not insomnia is associated with increased subclinical myocardial injury as expressed by cardiac troponins.
Additional information
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