Death risk high in older adults with sleep apnea and daytime sleepiness
April 2nd, 2011 - 4:41 pm ICT by ANIWashington, April 02 (ANI): A new study has suggested that the risk of death is more than two times higher in older adults who have sleep apnea and report struggling with excessive daytime sleepiness.
Results of adjusted proportional hazards modeling show that older adults with moderate to severe sleep apnea who reported struggling with excessive daytime sleepiness at baseline were more than twice as likely to die as subjects who had neither problem.
The risk of death was insignificant in older adults with only excessive daytime sleepiness or sleep apnea. Participants had a mean age of 78 years at baseline, and about 55 percent died during an average follow-up period of 14 years.
“Excessive daytime sleepiness, when associated with sleep apnea, can significantly increase the risk of death in older adults,” said principal investigator and lead author Nalaka S. Gooneratne, assistant professor of medicine in the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia, Pa.
“We did not find that being sleepy in and of itself was a risk. Instead, the risk of increased mortality only seemed to occur when sleep apnea was also present,” added S. Gooneratne.
The study has been published n the journal SLEEP. (ANI)
- Poor sleep aggravates young diabetics' condition - Jan 01, 2012
- Sleepy child? Factor in obesity, asthma - May 17, 2011
- Insomniac men at four-time higher death risk than normal counterparts - Sep 02, 2010
- Obesity-sleeping pill combo raises death risk - Mar 18, 2012
- Breathing device helps kids with sleep apnea - Feb 13, 2012
- 81pc of hospital patients at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea - Nov 02, 2010
- Surgery for obstructive sleep apnea reduces drowsiness during daytime - Jan 28, 2011
- Sleep problems may cause kids to become aggressive - Jun 01, 2011
- Daytime nap is good for your heart: Study - Mar 01, 2011
- CPAP therapy cuts fatigue, ups energy level in sleep apnea patients - Jan 01, 2011
- Sleep apnea 'raises death risk' - Aug 18, 2009
- Getting just enough sleep is the key to longevity - Oct 01, 2010
- Depression linked to sleep apnea - Apr 01, 2012
- Oral appliance therapy may benefit sleep apnea patients - Jun 06, 2010
- Sleep apnea ups stroke risk - Apr 08, 2010
Tags: assistant professor, baseline, death risk, excessive daytime sleepiness, medicine, mortality, older adults, participants, pennsylvania health system, philadelphia pa, principal investigator, proportional hazards, sleep, sleep apnea, university of pennsylvania, university of pennsylvania health system