P62 protein expression of blood CD4+CD8+ cytotoxic T cell (9.04 ± 6.81 versus 5.33 ± 7.33, adjusted p = 0.032, Fig. 1D) was increased in OSA patients as compared with that in PS subjects, and positively correlated with ODI (R = 0.282, p = 0.032, Fig. 1E). Here, SQSTM1 is linked to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.