Prevalence in men

Are there any theories explaining why SA is predominantly a male condition. Perhaps the some subtle anatomical difference?

Josiah wrote:Are there any theories explaining why SA is predominantly a male condition. Perhaps the some subtle anatomical difference?

Men talk less, so their airway doesn't get built up as much! Ha! Ha!, Let the flames begin! Jim

Josiah wrote:Are there any theories explaining why SA is predominantly a male condition. Perhaps the some subtle anatomical difference?

There's plenty of women here.

The view that OSA afflicts old fat men is on it's way out, and the new one that poor anatomy is the main cause, and that affects young and old, women and men, adults and children is on it's way in.

One theory is that certain hormones in women during childbearing years may tend to protect them just a bit against the condition. But that is based, I believe, partly on the fact that supposedly the differences in the estimated prevalence of OSA between the sexes appears to even out somewhat when the estimated prevalence among postmenopausal women is compared to the estimated prevalence among men of the same age.

That said . . .

Much more study is required to understand the complex relationship between sleep apnea and hormonal function.-- http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10. ... .3.9911064

That was written some 19 years ago. But still true, I believe.

Many of us feel there is evidence that the prevalence of OSA is vastly underestimated for all ages and all sexes, since (1) earlier estimates weren't based on a well-defined workable definition and (2) the condition is newly understood at all in many respects and (3) it is mostly only those who are already thought to have the condition that get tested for it, of course--which tends to skew the perceptions of practitioners and the focus of researchers. If you only test people with blue eyes for OSA, you will tend to think the condition is most common in people with blue eyes.

So is the prevalence generally higher in men? Seems so. But apparently not to the degree many docs think.

Josiah wrote:Are there any theories explaining why SA is predominantly a male condition. Perhaps the some subtle anatomical difference?

You're working from an incorrect presumption based on out-dated biases.
The previous posters nailed it.
Over the more recent years, more women have been/are being diagnosed with this condition.

In my opinion, the biggest problem is that there have been and still are far too many people of both genders who haven't been diagnosed or refuse to use their therapy.


Den

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Josiah wrote:Are there any theories explaining why SA is predominantly a male condition. Perhaps the some subtle anatomical difference?

Show me where it says that

LSAT wrote:

Josiah wrote:Are there any theories explaining why SA is predominantly a male condition. Perhaps the some subtle anatomical difference?

Show me where it says that

https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... tic_review

See table 4.

I wouldn't use the word "predominantly," myself, but 'more common' is pretty well established, I believe.

Not a reason to ignore it in either sex, but still apparently considered a statistical fact by researchers.

How about this one:
Until quite recently, most medical research was done exclusively on men.
Any differences were simply attributed to "female stuff".
And ignored.

From the link above, a 2016 overview:

"The overall prevalence of any OSA ranged from 9% to 38% in the general adult population, from 13% to 33% in men and from 6% to 19% in women, although much higher in the elderly groups." -- Prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in the general population: A systematic review https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... tic_review [accessed Nov 28 2017].

Statistics based on DIAGNOSED cases do not reflect all the cases that have gone undiagnosed due to ignorance or bias.

jnk... wrote:

LSAT wrote:

Josiah wrote:Are there any theories explaining why SA is predominantly a male condition. Perhaps the some subtle anatomical difference?

Show me where it says that

https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... tic_review

See table 4.

I wouldn't use the word "predominantly," myself, but 'more common' is pretty well established, I believe.

Not a reason to ignore it in either sex, but still apparently considered a statistical fact by researchers.

Did they get into the question of whether it occurs more in males, or it's just *diagnosed* more in males, because of the prevalence of doctors that *still* say "oh, you're a young woman, you don't have it"?

Not based on studies of diagnosed. Based on studies of population. Mostly random or population lists. Imperfect but decent methodologies, for the most part, in my nonpro opinion.

Personally I think it was only "more prevalent in men" because they mostly only tested men.

Women have sleep problems all the time (starting with pregnancy and on through menopause) but complain less because it's considered lifestyle issues: getting up to pee while pregnant, getting up to nurse babies and care for sick little ones, worrying about teens out too late, working 2 shifts (work and home and total exhaustion, etc. . . and then MENOPAUSE starts with night sweats from hell. Once true menopause sets in sleep is shredded. So we sleep worse but complain less because it's life and if we complain we are usually patted on the head and told that we are "doing too much" or my personal favorite (NOT) "it's JUST menopause." Men complain--immediate testing. Women complain, bupkes.

My wife wouldn't complain,so I told the doctor that she would quit breathing when sleeping and was snoring a lot. The doctor scheduled her for a sleep study and she is now on a bipap machine the same as I am. We both see the sleep specialist at the same time, the same as when we get our annual physical.

Population prevalence studies are done by bringing in randomized people and then seeing who meets the criteria and who doesn't. That way doc assumptions, being a complaining person, not being a complaining person, and the like all gets factored out of the estimates. When random people are tested, more men meet the criteria than women, according to the studies.

That is useful info for a doc playing the numbers according to the rules of so-called evidence-based medicine when a 20-yr-old skinny girl with a good jaw line and chin says she don't sleep so good. Is it possible she has OSA? Sure. Is SDB likely the first thing a doc attempts to assess? Probably not. That doesn't mean the doc is biased or stupid, since the research numbers of randomized studies back up that approach when figuring the likelihood of any given medical condition.