AIM: To investigate the difference of retinal nerve fiber layer(RNFL)thickness measured with OCT between obstructive sleep apnea(OSA)patients and normal people and discuss the relativity between decresse of RNFL and OSA.

METHODS: The articles on the association of RNFL thickness and OSA were retrieved by searching international and national databases. The qualified articles were assessed by Meta-analysis with Stata11.0 software.

RESULTS: Totally 10 studies enrolled 1 488 eyes were included in the Meta-analysis. The results of Meta-analysis showed that in OSA patients, there was a significant average RNFL thickness reduction compared with the control group. There were significant differences in superior, nasal and inferior RNFL thickness between the two groups. WMD with a 95%CI were \〖-2.97, 95%CI:(-4.65～-1.30), P<0.01\〗, \〖-3.05, 95%CI:(-4.93～-1.17), P=0.002\〗, \〖-3.81, 95%CI:(-6.95～-0.68), P=0.02\〗, \〖-4.16, 95%CI:(-7.63～-0.68), P=0.02\〗 respectively.

CONCLUSION: RNFL thickness is reduced in OSA patients compared with the control group. OCT may become a standard part of the evaluation of patients in OSA.