AHI readings

I was wondering if a mask can affect my AHI or not. I am very new to this and my first few days my AHI was sitting at average of 1.6. After switching masks I am averaging about 4. I switched masks because the first would leak sometimes throughout the night.

Is the mask the only thing you have changed? Large leaks make AHI data unreliable. I suggest looking at trends over a week or so before drawing any conclusions.

Yes, your mask could affect your AHI. But just because your AHI went up doesn't mean the old mask was better. It could be the leaks were keeping you from getting much REM sleep, and because in REM is when your muscles most fully relax, that's when you're most likely to have apnea. Hence, the leaky mask would give you a lower AHI, but it would not be an improvement.