7 Health Concerns That Can Result from Sleep Apnea

[yaconsult]

This is excerpted from an article linked in the news section. I thought it was a good summary and will include the list below. For the rest of the article, you can find it at: http://www.waynecojournalbanner.com/onl ... f90c6.html

My hope is that more people will realize how very, very serious sleep apnea is to their health and get tested and treatment as soon as they can, before they have to live with the consequences. I have had two close friends that weren't using cpap when they should have been and had strokes. One died and the other may never be able to leave a nursing home.

[...]
1. High Blood Pressure – Thirty to 40 percent of people with high blood pressure, and up to 85 percent of those who have treatment-resistant high blood pressure, have sleep apnea. Research shows that when sleep apnea is treated with oral appliance therapy, blood pressure can be reduced. Oral appliance therapy is offered by select dentists and uses a custom-fit, mouth guard-like device to support the jaw in a forward position and keep the airway open, without the need for a mask or constantly running CPAP machine.

2. Heart Disease – A study from the University of Wisconsin found that sleep apnea is common in people who have heart disease. The study also shows that those who suffer from untreated, severe sleep apnea may be five times more likely to die from heart disease.

3. Depression – Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that men who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea are more than twice as likely to exhibit signs of clinical depression, such as feeling hopeless and uninterested in everyday activities. The study also found that women who were diagnosed with sleep apnea were five times more likely to report symptoms of major depression.

4. Erectile Dysfunction – Men with sleep apnea commonly suffer from erectile dysfunction and overall sexual dysfunction. In a study conducted in Germany, researchers found that this relationship may be due to the repetitive drop in blood oxygen levels that occurs during sleep as a result of sleep apnea.

5. Acid Reflux – It has been shown that people who have sleep apnea often suffer from acid reflux, which can increase sleep disruption and daytime sleepiness. However, treating sleep apnea can help improve the symptoms of acid reflux.

6. Diabetes – Research shows that up to 83 percent of people with Type 2 diabetes suffer from sleep apnea but are not aware of their sleep disorder. As the severity of sleep apnea increases, glucose control within the body weakens.

7. Stroke – Research shows that untreated obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk for stroke, even without the presence of other risk factors. Obstructive sleep apnea is also frequently found in people who have already suffered a stroke, which contributes to impairment of the brain’s recovery.

[So Well]

8. Obesity

[chunkyfrog]

The article is, in general, fairly on track, except for one tiny detail:
Apparently, the original article was bent toward favoring oral appliance use,
even going so far as to imply that cpap is not the first choice treatment.
BOVINE BISCUITS

[So Well]

The article is, in general, fairly on track, except for one tiny detail:

Did you ever think that is why YA excerpted the article?

[SewTired]

The article, and studies, would have been more useful if they removed obese patients from the study. Obesity is already a known high risk factor for sleep apnea. It's impossible to make conclusions about all this other stuff unless you eliminate or control for the most obvious.

[yaconsult]

Oral appliances do not work for most people. And even when they do, they often cause their own problems - former appliance users are not a new sight around here.

Obesity becomes more common on a daily basis:

Adult Obesity in the United States
According to the most recent data, adult obesity rates now exceed 35 percent in four states, 30 percent in 25 states and are above 20 percent in all states. Louisiana has the highest adult obesity rate at 36.2 percent and Colorado has the lowest at 20.2 percent.