The Association Between the C-Reactive Protein Gene Variants rs1130864 and rs2794521 and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in the Iranian Kurdish Population

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome is a widespread multifactorial disorder that raises the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. This study aimed to investigate the association between the risk of OSA and two C-reactive protein (CRP) gene variants, rs1130864 and rs2794521. <b><i>Materials and methods:</i></b> In this study, 100 patients and 100 controls participated. Among 500 patients with OSA attending the sleep disorder center, 100 were randomly selected from those with apnea/hypopnea symptoms and daytime sleepiness. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism of the CRP gene polymorphisms were used in this investigation. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The frequency of the mutant C allele was higher in the patient group than in the control group for the rs2794521 CRP gene variant (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.001), and the C allele elevated the risk of OSA by 2.584 times (odds ratios = 2.584, 95% confidence interval). The frequency of the mutant T allele was higher in the patient group than in the control group for the rs1130864 CRP gene variant, while the frequency of the C allele was higher in the control group, and this difference was statistically significant (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.001). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Our findings indicated that rs1130864 and rs2794521 of the CRP gene are associated with increased risk for OSA. Extensive research is required to determine the role of distinct CRP gene variants in OSA.