Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) often accompanies obesity and glucose metabolic disorders,such as glucose intolerance,insulin resistance,and type 2 diabetes mellitus (hereafter diabetes).It has not been determined,however,whether sleep apnea is independently associated with the subsequent development of glucose metabolic disorders.This cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the prevalence of glucose metabolic disorders and to determine independent predictors for these disorders in patients with OSAS.The observational cohort study examined 1186 consecutive patients in Sleep Respiratory Disease Center of Ruijin Hospital affliiate to Shanghai Jiaotong University Medicine School from December 2005 to March 2010.405 study participants were free of preexisting diabetes and completed a full,attended,diagnostic polysomnogram.The study population was divided into quartiles based on diagnoses of sleep apnea measured by the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and diagnoses of obesity measured by the body mass index (BMI).211 were obese OSAHS subjects,42 were non-obese OSAHS subjects,121 were obese subjects without OSAHS (obese group) and 31 were non-obese subjects without OSAHS (control group).The main outcome was glucose metabolism related indicators and a corresponding physician diagnosis.Insulin resistance was estimated by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA).After x adjusting for age,sex,race,we found that in obese OSAHS group,the levels of fasting plasma glucosc(FPG) (5.51±1.02mmol/L),2-hour postprandial plasma glucose (2hPG) (8.93±3.61mmol/L),fasting insulin (FINS) (22.46± 10.34 uIU/ml),HOMA-IR (5.68±3.21) were higher compared to the non-obese OSAHS group.