Sleep apnea is a simpler term for obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome, OSAHS. This condition causes frequent interruptions in your breathing during sleep, which then causes poor oxygen delivery to your tissues. Sleep apnea is often associated with obesity and has been linked to a variety of psychosocial and medical problems, including daytime fatigue, poor work or school performance, irritability, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides and an increased frequency of heart attacks and strokes.
Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is a collection of physiologic traits that have long been associated with an increased risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Metabolic syndrome is characterized by abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and high serum triglyceride levels. If you have any three of these traits, you have metabolic syndrome. According to a study published in the August 2010 issue of “PLoS One,” sleep apnea is not only associated with obesity; it is tightly linked to metabolic syndrome.
Direct Cause
While the link between sleep apnea and high triglycerides might seem obvious — obesity contributes to both metabolic syndrome and sleep apnea — research has demonstrated a more direct, causative association between sleep apnea and high triglyceride levels. In 2010, scientists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine demonstrated that the intermittent interruption of oxygen delivery to your tissues stimulates liver enzymes that are responsible for manufacturing triglycerides. Thus, the worse your sleep apnea, the more likely your triglyceride level will increase.
Consequences
High triglyceride levels are directly correlated with cardiovascular risk; that is, the higher your triglyceride level, the greater your chances for having a heart attack or stroke. Other health problems, such as pancreatitis, are also associated with high triglyceride levels. Therefore, untreated sleep apnea, by virtue of its contribution to cardiovascular disease, increases your risk for complications of heart disease. In 2009, a study involving more than 6,000 men and women showed that untreated sleep apnea significantly increases your risk of death from all causes. However, it especially heightens your chances of dying from a heart attack or stroke, according to PloS Medicine.
Treatment
Obstructive sleep apnea can be successfully treated with a mechanism that improves your nighttime breathing and delivers more oxygen to your tissues. This method, called continuous positive airway pressure, CPAP, involves wearing a snug-fitting mask that pushes oxygen into your airway, a treatment that many patients find objectionable, at least initially. However, treatment with CPAP has been shown to correct the metabolic abnormalities associated with sleep apnea and reduce your risk of death from cardiovascular disease. If you suffer from sleep apnea, follow your doctor’s recommendations for treatment.
References
- “American Family Physician”; Clinical Evidence Handbook – Sleep Apnea; M. Hensley, et al.; January 2010
- “Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Obesity”; Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Dyslipidemia: Implications for Atherosclerosis; L.F. Drager, et al.; April 2010
- “PLoS One”; The Impact of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on Metabolic and Inflammatory Markers in Consecutive Patients with Metabolic Syndrome; L.F. Drager, et al.; August 2010
- “PLoS Medicine”; Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study; N.M. Punjabi, et al.; August 2009
