OT -apnea/obesity info

[Guest guest]

When Pounds Go, Sleep Apnea May Improve

10 percent weight loss increases remission odds, but any amount helps, experts

say

By Gardner

HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- People with sleep apnea who are also obese may triple the

chances of eliminating their sleep problems by losing weight, a new study

suggests.

Losing about 10 percent of their body weight was enough to bring on total or

near-total remission, said , head of the Center for Obesity Research

and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia, and lead author of the

study.

" It's been clear that obesity increases the risk of sleep apnea but less clear

that if obese people or people with type 2 diabetes lost weight, it would result

in significant improvements in their sleep apnea -- and it did, " said .

People who are overweight or obese are much more likely to have obstructive

sleep apnea, a condition in which a person's breathing stops or becomes very

shallow, sometimes several hundred times a night and sometimes for as long as a

minute, according to the American Sleep Apnea Association.

" The soft palate in the back of mouth falls down and blocks the airway, " said

Dr. Roslin, chief of bariatric surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New

York City. " When you get to people with serious levels of obesity, it's

virtually impossible to find those without [this type of] sleep apnea. "

The condition can lead to cardiovascular problems, including stroke, and can

raise the risk for dying prematurely.

" It really has tremendous detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system, "

Roslin said.

The study involved 264 obese men and women who also had type 2 diabetes and

obstructive sleep apnea. They were randomly assigned to an intensive behavioral

program intended to encourage weight loss or to a less intensive set of group

sessions that mainly addressed the issue of diabetes management.

After a year, those in the intensive program had lost an average of about 24

pounds, compared with slightly more than a one-pound average weight loss for the

others.

Those who lost the weight also saw a substantial reduction in the number of

sleep apnea episodes they experienced, with more than three times as many people

in the intensive group experiencing complete remission (13.6 percent versus 3.5

percent).

" The greatest benefit was seen in men and those with severe apnea, " said.

Any amount of weight loss brought on an improvement, but those who lost about 10

percent of their original body weight saw the greatest effect. " Any weight loss

is good, " said.

Most experts recommend 10 percent as the weight loss needed to improve sleep

apnea.

However, the study also found that people whose weight remained stable

experienced a worsening in their sleep apnea. Just why that occurred remains

unclear.

" This is one of the first and certainly the largest study ever conducted so

we're at the point in the field, unfortunately, where we're just describing the

effect, " said.

The study, published Sept. 28 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, does seem to

confirm what common sense and experience have shown.

" We've seen that when patients gain five to 10 pounds, their sleep apnea is much

worse. If they lose five to 10 pounds, the sleep apnea is much better, " said Dr.

Hormoz Ashtyani, director of pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine at

Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. " It's usually not a

resolution, but it's a significant improvement. "

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has more on sleep apnea.

SOURCES: , Ph.D., director, Center for Obesity Research and

Education, and professor, medicine and public health, Temple University,

Philadelphia; Hormoz Ashtyani, M.D., director, pulmonary critical care and sleep

medicine, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, N.J.;

Roslin, M.D., chief, bariatric surgery, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City;

Sept. 28, 2009, Archives of Internal Medicine

[Guest guest]

At 02:18 PM 10/31/2009, you wrote:

When Pounds Go, Sleep Apnea May

Improve

10 percent weight loss increases remission odds, but any amount helps,

experts say

Yep, nothing like perpetuating the myth that only fatties get

apnea.

Funny thing: my apnea symptoms showed up after I'd lost around 70-80

pounds, or about 20% of my body weight.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

[Guest guest]

My previous doc wouldn't send me on a sleep study because he would always say to

me " Jodi, you're not obese "

I had seen some morning talk and they discussed sleep apnea and waking up

gasping for air. I sometimes wake up like that but I thought since only obese

get it that I have anxiety from my dream state or something.. Never bothered to

look into it.

I trusted docs so much more than I should of had pre-SCD..

Makes me cringe.

Jodi