Many people unknowingly suffer from sleep apnea

Many people suffer from sleep apnea without knowing — Photo credit: Unsplash+

What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder. People with OSA often snore loudly and stop breathing intermittently during the night.

This can cause you to wake up frequently and feel tired during the day. But the problem isn’t just limited to poor sleep. OSA can also increase your risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

How many people have OSA?

A new study published in ERJ Open Research suggests that about one in five people could have OSA. More than 20,000 adults in France were examined in this study.

The researchers found that about 20.2% of the people in the study were likely to have OSA. But only 3.5% of them were treated for it.

These results show that many people with OSA may not even know they have it. This is a big problem because if people don’t know they have OSA, they can’t get the help they need to get treatment.

Who is most likely to have OSA?

The study found that OSA was more common in certain groups of people. It was more common in men, the elderly, people with heart disease, smokers, and those with symptoms of depression.

OSA was also more common in people who did little exercise, had a lower socioeconomic status, or were overweight.

Interestingly, the study found that women are more likely to have OSA without knowing it. This suggests that doctors need to better detect OSA in women.

How can OSA be treated?

The good news is that there are treatments and lifestyle changes that can help people with OSA. For example, losing weight, getting regular exercise, and stopping smoking can all help reduce the symptoms of OSA.

There are also medical treatments, like using a special device while you sleep to keep your airway open.

What does that mean for you?

If you snore loudly or feel tired during the day, you may have OSA. It’s important to talk to your doctor about these symptoms, as untreated OSA can lead to other serious health problems.

The researchers behind this study continue to investigate the link between OSA and heart disease.

They are also studying whether screening for OSA could help people who have had a heart attack. With this ongoing research, we hope to learn more about how to identify and treat OSA in the future.

If you care about sleep, please read studies about it Herb that could help you sleep well at nightAnd These drugs could reduce the severity of sleep apnea by a third.

You can find more information about sleep in current studies Coffee increases your physical activity, shortens sleep and affects heart rateand results are displayed how to deal with “COVID somnia” and sleep well at night.

The study was published in ERJ Open Research.

Laura Coffey3 weeks ago