weight loss /OSA

Can OSA really effect weight,i have heard that if you get to the desired weight i wouldn't have OSA???

First question: OSA, and stress in general can contribute to obesity.
Second question--some doctors will tell you this, but evidence is lacking to support it.
This is a common wish; and a common belief. It is not impossible, but rarely happens.
The connection between OSA and obesity is complex and varied.
Losing weight may change your required pressure, it will definitely reduce stress on the heart and other organs.
Stopping cpap can cause weight gain. Cpap and weight loss can work together to extend your life.

There is a well documented link between OSA and obesity both ways. Obesity is one of the most significant risk factors to developing OSA. Research is also finding that OSA contributes to OSA through sleep disturbance, decreased muscle and respiratory function. In a 2012 article in Sleep Medicine Reviews, Tuomilehto, Seppa & Uusitupa published the results of their study showing that AHI decreased proportionately to a weight loss for OSA patients. Patients with mild OSA even reduced their AHI to below the threshold for OSA. The more severe cases had improvement but still had measurable and at times significant OSA. Losing weight reduces one's risk of death from many diseases like heart disease, diabetes and strokes.

Yea, and I know I need lose at least 30 pounds, 40 would be better. I don't plan to stop the CPAP unless I lose the weight and have a follow up study proving I no longer have OSA.



Tuomilehto, H., Seppa, J. & Uusitupa, M. (2012). Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea--Clinical significance of weight loss. Sleep Medicine Reviews, . In press.

But has weight loss actually CURED apnea? Can this be guaranteed? Is it permanent?
This is what people are hoping for--and the least likely thing to happen.
Improvement, yes, but a cure would have to be confirmed by a PSG, and rechecked in case the weight comes back.
(that NEVER happens, does it?)

What about the skinny people who have OSA?
I weighed 115 lbs when I got diagnosed...but my symptoms started when I weighed 104 lbs and wore a size 2.

chunkyfrog wrote:But has weight loss actually CURED apnea? Can this be guaranteed? Is it permanent?
This is what people are hoping for--and the least likely thing to happen.
Improvement, yes, but a cure would have to be confirmed by a PSG, and rechecked in case the weight comes back.
(that NEVER happens, does it?)

I think it's possible, but I don't know anyone who beat apnea through weight loss alone, and I can't remember any posts on here like that either.

Out of over a thousand sleep studies and talking with other techs....I have heard of around 6 that did not need cpap after loosing enough weight to be in a desired BMI.

I have convinced myself that most of my OSA is related to the funky way my soft palate healed after a tonsillectomy. Since that event I have had choking events and snoring though OSA was only formally diagnosed this year. Since that surgery my BMI has fluctuated from between 21-34.

Is my OSA worse since I got heavier?

Probably (Don't really know)

Do I need to lose weight because it will cure OSA?

No (the research is not solid & irrefutable), but I need to lose weight to avoid heart disease, type II diabetes, strokes, many cancers. . .That evidence is about as solid and irrefutable as it comes.

My sleep doc wears CPAP for OSA and though he's not thin, I would estimate he's no more than 20lbs overweight. My husband's best friend was diagnosed as an adult only because his wife couldn't stand the loud snoring. His parents say he had snored like that since he was a child (fit champion athlete guy most his life).

Neck size and BMI are 2 risk factors for OSA, but not required, nor are they the only ones.

Some, like me, have seen pressure needs reduce with weight loss, mine from 14 cm to 10.5 cm. I can't see weight loss ever eliminating my need for cpap however, since I snored like a freight train even before I met the criteria for a cpap prescription. Weight gain eventually worsened my apnea so that, when I had my 2nd sleep study 9 years after my first, I finally met the criteria for cpap.

I would continue to use cpap simply to prevent snoring, even if my OSA went away.

Yes, untreated OSA will and DOES affect weight. Now as far as this common idea that losing huge amounts of weight will make you not need CPAP anymore, sometimes that is true. Other times that is not true. Sometimes, anatomical defects in the throat area is the culprit and excess weight just makes it worse.

To really get rid of OSA via weight loss alone, you need to lose ALL excess weight. And then you need to keep off that weight, longterm. A tough act to follow. My guess would be that individuals who have "taken the plunge" and gotten bariatric surgery have the best chances of keeping obesity at by...LONGTERM.

This is anecdotal of course, but I have one friend who had his sleep apnea go away losing about 20 pounds. (Sleep apnea is totally gone, though I suspect it could make a return down the road)

I have about 10 or 12 friends where it makes no difference.

It's good to lose weight, but telling people it's going to make a difference is just a lie most of the time. Not to mention it perpetuates a medical stereotype.

I am of normal weight, and I've had OSA since childhood, that is, over 50 years. It's a throat architecture thing, so in my case, I could be the guy-equivalent of Twiggy, and I would still need the gear.. I strongly suspect that there are at least a few who could dispense with the nightly SCUBA gear when they slender wayyyy down, but these fine folks would be the exception. Most would be able to use a lower pressure, I suspect.

I have read here that some of the more...ahem...calorically gifted OSA patients have been able to reduce pressures (or pressure range limits, of APAPs) as their weight declined, and that makes sense. Conversely, if one were to gain weight, one might expect to require an increase in pressures for a therapeutic result.

One thought about this, if one were able to reduce the pressure needed for optimum therapy (because of weight loss), that would be a good thing. Lower pressures would be more comfortable, and less likely to leak (among other positives).

.