Moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of death from any cause in middle-aged adults, especially men, according to new results from a landmark study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
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A video imaging technique demonstrates that the soft palate, the tissue at the back of the roof of the mouth, is more elongated and angled in patients with obstructive sleep apnea both when they sleep and when they are awake, according to a recently published report.
“Obstructive sleep apnea is a common form of sleep-breathing disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of partial or complete upper airway obstruction,” the authors wrote in the article. The condition usually causes breaks in sleeping, reduced blood oxygen levels and daytime sleepiness, and may contribute to cognitive (thinking, learning and memory) difficulties, psychosocial impairments, trouble driving, heart disease and death.
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Undiagnosed and/or untreated obstructive sleep apnea decreases blood flow to the brain, elevates blood pressure within the brain, and eventually harms the brain’s ability to modulate these changes to prevent damage to itself, according to a new study. The findings may help explain why people with undiagnosed and/or untreated sleep apnea are more likely to suffer strokes and to die in their sleep.
Sleep apnea is the most commonly diagnosed condition amongst sleep-related breathing disorders and can lead to debilitating and sometimes fatal consequences for the 18 million Americans who have been diagnosed with the disorder. This study identifies a mechanism behind stroke in these patients.
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Women age 70 and older who sleep five hours or less per night may be more likely to experience falls than those who sleep more than seven to eight hours per night, according to a report in the September 8, 2008 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. The use of sleep medications does not appear to influence the association between sleep and risk of falling.
“Falls pose a major health risk among older adults and are a leading cause of death, illness and premature nursing home placement,” according to background information in the article. About one-third of adults older than age 65 experience falls each year. Insomnia and disturbed sleep as well as the use of benzodiazepines — hypnotic medications to treat insomnia — are increasingly common in older adults.
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