Association of tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene polymorphism (-308) and obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome

Background and Aim: Elevated serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) concentration and a polymorphism of the TNF-alpha gene at the position -308 in the promoter region are associated with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). We aimed to determine the association of this polymorphism with OSAHS in Greek patients. Patients and Methods: A blood sample was obtained from 220 patients clinicaly diagnosed with OSAHS and 319 normal controls. TNF-alpha genotype was determined from nucleus-containing cells from whole blood using a PCR method. Results: The results demonstrated that the distribution of alleles was significantly different when comparing the OSAHS patients group to the healthy controls. The appearance of AA (p=0.04) and AG (p