Newswise — During the 2010: The Year of the Lung campaign, the ATS and other members of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) are honoring World Sleep Day, March 19, by raising awareness of sleep-disordered breathing, an underdiagnosed and potentially dangerous condition if left untreated. Treatment of sleep-disordered breathing can improve symptoms and may reduce health risks related to the condition.
Underdiagnosis of Sleep-Disordered Breathing
Sleep-disordered breathing is an umbrella term for several chronic conditions in which a person partially or completely stops breathing many times throughout the night. This results in daytime sleepiness or fatigue that interferes with a person’s ability to function. The most common form of sleep-disordered breathing is obstructive sleep apnea.
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, more than 12 million adult Americans have obstructive sleep apnea, and most are not diagnosed and treated. More than half of the people who have this condition are overweight.
The most common signs of sleep-disordered breathing, snoring and daytime fatigue or sleepiness, are so common that they may not be recognized as abnormal. The condition is usually not detected during a routine doctor’s visit.
“Because sleep-disordered breathing is so often unrecognized, millions of people are not getting the treatment they need to relieve their symptoms and reduce their risk of related health problems,” said J Randall Curtis, M.D., M.P.H., president of the ATS. “Safe and effective treatment is available to help people with sleep-disordered breathing improve their health and their quality of life, but people can’t get treatment if they are never diagnosed. Raising awareness of sleep-disordered breathing is vital and lives depend on it.”
Health Risks Associated with Sleep-Disordered Breathing
Untreated obstructive sleep apnea can have dangerous health consequences. A study published in 2009 found that moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of death from any cause in middle-aged adults, especially men. The study of more than 6,000 adults published in the journal PLoS (Public Library of Science) Medicine found that study participants with severe sleep apnea were at a 46 percent increased risk of death compared with those who did not have the condition.
Untreated sleep apnea also has been shown to increase the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Because sleep apnea can cause daytime sleepiness, it can increase the risk of work- or driving-related accidents.
Treatment Can Help Reduce Health Risks
Treatment for sleep-disordered breathing can help reduce the severity of symptoms such as daytime sleepiness and snoring. Treatment also may help other problems linked to sleep-disordered breathing such as high blood pressure, and can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
The most effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine that delivers pressurized air to the upper airway through a mask to keep the airway open. Other treatments to restore regular breathing during sleep include lifestyle changes such as weight loss, smoking cessation and avoiding alcohol and sedatives; mouthpieces to help keep the airways open during sleep, and surgery to widen breathing passages.
Children and Sleep-Disordered Breathing
Enlarged tonsil tissues in the throat may cause sleep apnea in children. Sleep apnea may cause problems in children including hyperactivity, poor school performance and aggressiveness. Children with sleep apnea also may experience bedwetting. The first choice of treatment for children with sleep apnea usually is removal of the tonsils.
ATS and 2010: The Year of the Lung
2010: The Year of the Lung is a global initiative instituted by the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), a collaboration of the world’s leading professional respiratory organizations, including ATS. 2010: The Year of the Lung aims to raise awareness of and advocate for lung health, globally and at the country level, to reduce lung disease morbidity and mortality.
To learn more about 2010: The Year of the Lung and corresponding ATS initiatives, please visit www.thoracic.org. To learn more about World Sleep Day, visit http://worldsleepday.wasmonline.org/.
Source: Punjabi NM, Caffo BS, Goodwin JL, Gottlieb DJ, Newman AB, et al. 2009 Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study. PLoS Med 6(8): e1000132. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000132
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