Abstract: Objective To determine whether an association exists between obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome( OASHS)and short-term prognosis of acute cerebral infarction in different genders. Methods Patients with acute cerebral infarction(n = 85)were recruited and divided into pure cerebral infarction group(n = 37),cerebral infarction with mild OSAHS group( n = 23)and cerebral infarction with moderate to severe OSAHS group(n = 25)according to the monitoring results of apnea hyponea index(AHI). The degree of neurologic impairment was assessed by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS)and modified Rankin Score(mRS)on admission and before discharge. Results The NIHSS scores before discharge,the reduced values of NIHSS and mRS in the cerebral infarction with moderate to severe OSAHS group were significantly different from those in pure cerebral infarction group (P ﹤ 0. 05). Significant difference in reduced values of NIHSS and mRS were also found in male(P ﹤0. 01 or ﹤ 0. 05),but not in female. Conclusion The severity of OASHS is related to the increased risk of poor prognosis in male patients with acute cerebral infarction.

Key words: brain infarction, sleep apnea, obstructive, gender factor