In the family?

[montana user]

My mom, aunt and uncle have sleep apnea. My sister from Alaska is coming home to visit and I am doing a sleep study on her. Just curious how many of you have other family members with OSA? I see quite a few patients that lists on their paperwork that they have family with it as well. Thanks

[who]

"Familial factors have been known to be important in the development of OSA for more than 25 years. Strohl et al., in their 1978 paper, documented the clustering of OSA in multiple members of the same family. Since then, several familial clustering studies have demonstrated similar findings. . . . Indeed, OSA has been shown to have a strong genetic component, even after controlling for obesity. . . . Schwab et al. performed volumetric MRI of the upper airway in probands with OSA, their siblings, and normal controls and their siblings. The authors controlled for confounders of sex, ethnicity, age, craniofacial size, and visceral neck fat. The lateral pharyngeal walls, soft palate, genioglossus muscle, tongue volume, and total soft tissue volume were enlarged in both probands and their siblings, but not the control groups. More importantly, the volume of the lateral pharyngeal walls, (retropalatal and retroglossal) tongue, and total soft tissue volumes all demonstrated heritability after controlling for confounders. Examining the effect of soft tissue size on development of OSA, the authors found that enlargement of the retropalatal lateral pharyngeal wall, retroglossal lateral pharyngeal wall, total lateral pharyngeal wall, soft palate, and total soft tissue volume were all associated with an increased risk of having a sibling with OSA."

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/547257_3

[BleepingBeauty]

My mom, aunt and uncle have sleep apnea. My sister from Alaska is coming home to visit and I am doing a sleep study on her. Just curious how many of you have other family members with OSA? I see quite a few patients that lists on their paperwork that they have family with it as well. Thanks

My brother's been a hosehead for several years. I was diagnosed in 2007. My uncle (dad's brother) started therapy about six months ago, at the age of 85. I'm positive my dad also has OSA (from my mother's observations), but he won't get tested.

My brother's ex-wife has just been diagnosed, so I'm betting that their kids are likely to have OSA, too. *sigh*

[NWSleeper]

My father and I have sleep apnea and we both have the same mouth/chin/neck as far as crowded lower teeth and weight tends to be on our necks. My Dr also told me I have a small throat and my dentist told me I have a large tongue..all that together = severe sleep apnea overweight or not. I was diagnosed at 39 but am sure I had sleep apnea for at least 5 years. So far no other sibling (I have 4) have been diagnosed. My family says all my paternal relatives snore badly.

[cpap'er]

My brother has been using CPAP since like 1990 i actually seen his original machine about a month ago...it was quite the piece of equipment...lol
I've been on CPAP now for about 1.5 months.....my sister is showing signs of it now too....

I put it off for a long time before i agreed it was time to take action and get a sleep study done...turns out i had severe sleep apnea.

[M.D.Hosehead]

In retrospect, I'm positive my father had sleep apnea most of his life. He was never diagnosed. He died at 93 from pneumonia.

But he slept through some of the best things life has to offer, like family get-togethers, his children's activities, and any kind of performing art, including cinema. He had difficulty reading for more than a few minutes without falling asleep.

[thewetlizard]

I'm it. I'm the only one in the family.

[who]

I'm it. I'm the only one in the family.

That you know of. So far.

[Jaylee]

Yes, my Dad.

[frh]

I'm absolutely certain my dad had OSA. One of my brothers has been diagnosed, but won't use the machine. I think my sister and another brother also have it, but have not been diagnosed (or more like refuse to be diagnosed). My wife has it. And I'm reasonably sure 3 of my 5 kids and a bunch of my grandkids have it.

[montana user]

wow it is amazing that now you know the signs and symptoms and you talk to family and friends you can almost diagnose it your self. I have been on my sister for 8 months to get a sleep study and she was positive she did not need one. Came up with every excuse in the world. BUT her doctor says sleep study and she is all for it!...lol so much for listening to her lil bro who is in the field. thanks for the replies everyone. It is very interesting!

[kteague]

I'm sure my father had it (long ago). Brother was tested, diagnosed mild, and thought that meant it wasn't enough to treat it. Had long talk with him, nothing changed. Continues to live life sleepy. Other brother is symptomatic but hasn't been tested. None of them were overweight. Wish I had got my mom's genes on this one.

[montana user]

My sister comes in tomorrow night for her sleep study. She is absolutely sure she does not have apnea but her doctor in Alaska thinks she may have something going on that is causing her to lose sleep or not get into all the sleep stages. so we shall soon find out! I may be adding another family member to the list of hose heads!

[cflame1]

My dad was tested and had it... he wouldn't use the machine. He's now dead.

Guess the only thing good that I have to say about it, is that knowing he had it convinced me to get tested.

[KatieW]

I'm sure my father had it. He was never diagnosed.