Posted by 
Researchers used the potential blood biomarkers as a diagnostic tool for obstructive sleep apnea. They discovered that concurrent elevations of haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythropoietin (EPO) indicated that a patient may have obstructive sleep apnea.
The study demonstrated that blood biomarkers proved superior to the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and other standard screening methods currently used for diagnosis, particularly in non-obese males. These tests were shown to correlate with disease severity and may assist in triaging patients for diagnosis and treatment.
Diagnosis for sleep apnea requires expensive overnight polysomnography. An accurate, simple, quick and cheap screening test would be ideal. Signs of sleep apnea detected from a blood sample is an important step in that direction and is particularly relevant in this cohort of non-obese men with sleep apnea.
haleplushearty.org