Obstructive sleep apnea is known to increase the risk of developing dangerous health factors such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. The known factors to increase the risk of OSA include obesity, hypertension, alcohol and tobacco use, genetics. Now researchers are adding asthma to that list.
At the University of Wisconsin, researchers found an elevated risk for OSA in people that had asthma, and particularly those had asthma as children. In their study, 773 adult men and women between the ages of 30-60 were observed for 8 years. Of the 773 participants, 201 had asthma at the beginning of the study, and 61 of them had developed asthma during childhood. None of the participants had OSA. Every 4 years, researchers had the study subjects undergo sleep evaluations, clinical health assessments, and health questionnaires. Even with other risk factors for OSA adjusted including age, gender, body-mass index, smoking and nasal congestion, the presence of asthma significantly increased the risk for OSA.
The participants with asthma were 1.70 times more likely to develop sleep apnea over the study period. For the participants who had developed asthma during childhood, they had 2.34 times the risk of developing the sleep disorder, compared to those without asthma. Also, the results revealed that the longer a person had asthma, the higher their risk of developing OSA was. The participants who developed asthma (45 subjects) during the study were 48% more likely to develop OSA.
More than 25 million Americans suffer from asthma. Their risk of developing sleep apnea is higher, and they are also at an elevated risk for the complications that come along with the sleep disorder.
If you think you have sleep apnea, you need to immediately visit a sleep laboratory and check out your quality of sleep in a sleep clinic and meet with a doctor immediately. Great job taking care of yourself and taking your health seriously! We at Gallery Furniture are proud of you for your hard work!
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