the impact of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome on t-lymphocyte subgroups and natural killer cell activity in the peripheral blood of children

Background: obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (osahs) can impact multiple organ systems in children. objectives: to investigate the effects of osahs on t-lymphocyte subgroups and natural killer (nk) cell activity in the peripheral blood of affected children. methods: a total of 85 children with osahs were enrolled into an experimental group (osahs) and 76 healthy children were placed in a control group (con) to compare peripheral blood levels of cd3+, cd4+, cd8+, and nk cell activity using flow cytometry. meanwhile, their polysomnography results were monitored to analyze the correlation between t-lymphocyte subgroups/nk cell activity and lowest pulse oxygen saturation (lsao2)/apnea-hypopnea index (ahi). results: compared to the con group, the cd3+ percentage in the osahs group showed no significant difference (65.98 ± 6.54 vs 64.36±5.32; p > 0.05), but the cd4+ percentage, cd4+/cd8+ ratio, and nk cell activity decreased markedly (33.523.04 vs 35.26±3.68,1.29 ± 0.14 vs 1.43 ± 0.26, and 11.47 ± 4.58 vs 12.69 ± 2.36, respectively; p < 0.05). in addition, the cd8+ percentage increased significantly (26.18±4.76 vs 24.36±2.32; p < 0.05). linear regression analysis indicated that the cd3+ percentage was not related to lsao2/ahi (p > 0.05), but the cd4+ and cd8+ percentages, cd4+/cd8+ ratio, and nk cell activity were linearly related to lsao2 and ahi (p < 0.05). conclusions: osahs can affect the cellular immunity of children. the ahi and lsao2 maybe involved in cellular immunity function.