A systematic review 1 including 12 RCTs with a total of 572 subjects was abstracted in DARE. The pooled estimate of the effect of the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) intervention was a net decrease of 1.69 mm Hg in 24-hour ambulatory mean blood pressure (95% CI -2.69 to -0.69; random-effects model; moderate statistical heterogeneity, I2 = 41%). Predefined metaregression analyses estimated that 24-hour MBP would decrease by 0.89 mm Hg per 10-point increase in apnea-hypopnea index at entry (P = 0.006), by 0.74 mm Hg for each increase of 10 arousal events per hour slept (P = 0.008), and by 1.39 mm Hg for each 1-hour increase in effective nightly use of the CPAP device (P = 0.01).
Another systematic review 2 including 16 RCTs (9 parallel-group, 7 crossover) with a total of 818 subjects was abstracted in DARE. CPAP was associated with a clinically significant reduction in the mean net change in systolic blood pressure (-2.46 mmHg, 95% CI -4.30 to -0.62), diastolic blood pressure (-1.83 mmHg, 95% CI -3.05 to -0.61) and mean arterial pressure (-2.22 mmHg, 95% CI -4.38 to -0.05) compared with control. There was no significant difference between daytime and night-time BP measurements.
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