Restoring Metabolic and Reproductive Health With Sleep in PCOS Study, CPAP Trial

January 21, 2026 updated by: University of California, San Francisco
In this study, the researchers are trying to learn more about the relationship between Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a sleep-related breathing disorder that involves a decrease or complete stop in airflow. The purpose of this study is to find out why some people with obstructive sleep apnea have higher levels of insulin resistance, and the investigators will study the role of hypoxia (low levels of oxygen in the blood at night) in insulin resistance and see if insulin resistance improves during your treatment with CPAP.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Today, approximately 5 million Americans of reproductive age have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). The personal and public health burden of PCOS is high. People with PCOS are at elevated risk of infertility, endometrial cancer, obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Moreover, there is a paucity of treatments that address the metabolic and reproductive concerns of this disorder. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a recognized co-morbidity of PCOS that may exacerbate both metabolic and reproductive aspects of PCOS. Thus, treating OSA represents a potentially attractive tool to improve outcomes in PCOS. Indeed, continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP) is a relatively inexpensive treatment for OSA that is safe for use in women in the reproductive years, even when pregnant or trying to conceive. However, evidence regarding the impact of CPAP use in PCOS populations is lacking, and, currently, screening and treatment of OSA is only considered standard of care to treat symptoms of excessive sleepiness or hypertension. Because an estimated 15-45% of people with moderate/severe OSA do not have these symptoms, treatment is not considered standard of care for the majority of persons with OSA and PCOS. From another study looking at sleep and PCOS, we will identify 20 subjects with moderate-to-severe OSA without excessive daytime sleepiness who will enroll in a CPAP trial. These subjects will undergo intensive multi-tissue insulin resistance testing and will be assigned treatment with CPAP or delayed treatment after 12 weeks after which all measures will be re-assessed. Accordingly, this proposal will address an unanswered question: Does CPAP provide metabolic or reproductive benefits in PCOS? The results will also better define potential mechanistic pathways linking OSA to insulin resistance and will determine whether CPAP improves key outcomes.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

20

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94158
        • University of California, San Francisco

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects found to have moderate to severe OSA (AHI >15)
  • PCOS diagnosis satisfies both the hyperandrogenic and oligo-ovulatory requirements of Rotterdam criteria
  • Ages 18-40
  • BMI 25-45 kg/m2
  • Fasting insulin >16
  • At-risk score on Berlin Questionnaire

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current use of oral contraceptives
  • Diabetes mellitus (fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL or 2-h glucose ≥200 mg/dL or HGB A1c ≥6.5%)
  • Treatment for asthma
  • Regular tobacco use or alcohol consumption exceeding 1 drink/day
  • HIV infection or infectious hepatitis
  • Pregnancy or lactation within the past six months
  • Prior OSA treatment
  • Excessive daytime sleepiness as defined as >16 on the Eppworth Sleepiness Scale or untreated or inadequately treated hypertension (>150/90)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: CPAP Group
Participants randomized to CPAP will initiate CPAP therapy at the beginning of the study.
Device: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Device (CPAP)
Metabolic studies will be performed before and after initiation of CPAP therapy, which is currently the first-line standard of care for treatment of patients with OSA, both with and without hypoxia.
Placebo Comparator: Delayed CPAP Group
Participants randomized to delayed CPAP (waitlist control) will initiate CPAP therapy immediately after 12 weeks. The investigators recognize that adherence to CPAP therapy is a common barrier to effective clinical treatment of OSA and to rigorous research on CPAP and has been significantly correlated with improvements in insulin resistance, including in a small of study of women with PCOS. After receiving this device, participants can meet with a study psychiatrist and his team within 3 days of initiating CPAP therapy and as needed for up to a month after initiating therapy. No visits in this time period will be billed to insurance.
Other: Delayed Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Device (CPAP)
Metabolic studies will be performed before and after the study period of 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, participants will immediate receive CPAP therapy, which is currently the first-line standard of care for treatment of patients with OSA, both with and without hypoxia.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of participants showing a change in fractional de novo lipogenesis (DNL, %)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
The percent of newly synthesized fatty acids (DNL, %) will be measured using a stable isotope (deuterated water) and mass spectrometry.
Baseline and 12 weeks
Number of participants showing a change in free testosterone (pg/mL)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
The aim is evaluate the effect of treating OSA with CPAP on biochemical hyperandrogenism in individuals with PCOS.
Baseline and 12 weeks
Number of participants showing a change in insulin secretion rate (picomol/min)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Glucose Tolerance Test is used to measure of insulin secretion rate.
Baseline and 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of California, San Francisco

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Heather Huddleston, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 22, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 5, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 16, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

June 27, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 23, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 21, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 22-36861

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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