Objective: Our aim in this study was to compare the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in rapid eye movement (REM) related obstructive sleep apnea (RRO) syndrome (OSAS) and position related OSAS (SRO) to habitual snorers (HSN) and try to find out the phenotype that increases the physical stress more.

Methods: The patient charts and polysomnograms of all subjects referred to Yedikule medical center for chest diseases sleep department between June 2019 and January 2020 were reviewed and classified as RRO, SRO and HSN. Fasting blood tests were performed in the morning following polysomnography. The phenotypes of OSAS were compared to each other by means of NLR.

Results: A total number of 147 cases were reviewed. Forty eight cases were SRO, 49 cases were RRO and 50 were simple snorer. The NLR in RRO was statistically significant from those of SRO and HSN subgroups (p=0.001), whereas NLR in groups SRO and HSN were identical (p=0.650). Apnea Hypopnea index and O2 nadir in all groups were statistically significant from each other.

Conclusion: Our data suggests that the REM related OSAS increases NLR as a predictor of inflammation, but NLR stays constant in Position related OSAS and simple snorers.