Sleep Apnea Carries Greater Death Risk
Sleep apnea is linked to an increased risk of death among middle-aged adults, according to a new study.
Writing in the journal PLoS Medicine on Monday, Naresh Punjabi of Johns Hopkins University, and colleagues studied more than 6,000 men and women aged 40 years and older.
Study participants had no sleep apnea or had mild, moderate, or severe sleep apnea. This was determined by an at-home sleep test at the beginning of the study, researchers said.
"Among men, 42.9 percent did not have sleep-disordered breathing, 33.2 percent had mild disease, 15.7 percent had moderate disease, and 8.2 percent had severe disease," researchers wrote.
Participants were monitored for an average of eight years. Those with an AHI ““ used to determine blood oxygen levels ““ of 30 or above were one-and-one-half times more likely to die than those with normal AHI.
Researchers noted a 46 percent increased risk of death among patients with sleep apnea, compared to those without the breathing condition.
What’s more, they found that the risk of mortality was higher among men than women. Men between the ages of 40 and 70 with severe sleep apnea were twice as likely to die during the study compared to their peers who did not have the condition, researchers said.
Previous studies have not been as detailed to determine how factors like age and sex are related to an increase or decrease in death risk.
More than 12 million Americans are estimated to have sleep apnea, many of which are not diagnosed, according to researchers.
The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
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