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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Sleep apnea interrupts the dozing of up to 18 million Americans, according to the American Association for Respiratory Care. New research shows it may be shortening their lives as well.
An ongoing study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows people with severe sleep apnea are three times more likely to die from any cause than people without it.
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Researchers followed up on the more than 1,500 participants in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study. They looked at state and national death records to identify participants who had died and note their causes of death. Results show 19 percent of participants with severe sleep apnea died, 42 percent of them from cardiovascular disease or stroke. On the other hand, only four percent of participants without sleep apnea died.
We found that both men and women with sleep apnea in the general population -- not patients -- mostly undiagnosed and untreated, had poorer survival compared with persons without sleep apnea, given equal BMI, age and sex, lead author Terry Young, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was quoted as saying.
The study also shows the use of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Therapy may protect sleep apnea sufferers from cardiovascular death. CPAP Therapy provides a steady stream of air through a mask worn during sleep. This keeps the airway of a sleep apnea patient open, preventing pauses in breathing and restoring normal oxygen levels.
SOURCE: Sleep, August 1, 2008
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