The prevalence of obesity,sleep apnea, and the metabolic syndrome is rapidly increasing in India and other south Asian countries, leading to increased morbidity and mortality due to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). 

The literature search has been carried out using the key words “insulin resistance, the metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular risk, diabetes, obesity, Asian Indians, and South Asians” in the medical search engine Pubmed (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD) from 1966 to September 2009. Read the rest of this entry

A team of researchers at the Sleep Disorders Unit, Loewenstein Hospital-Rehabilitation Center, Raanana, Israel attempted to evaluate the effect of body position on REM-related obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. 

In the specifically conducted retrospective analysis for 100 consecutive adult OSA patients (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] ? 5) who had ? 10 min of REM sleep in both supine and lateral postures. Read the rest of this entry

In a recently completed research study the researchers examined that among children undergoing adenotonsillectomy for obstructive sleep apnea, what are the responsible factors that promote incomplete resolution of obstructive sleep apnea.

In quest to this exploration researchers  attempted to assess the efficacy of surgical removal of the tonsils and adenoids (adenotonsillectomy [AT]) in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children, and to delineate factors associated with persistent OSA, a retrospective review of pre- and postsurgery polysomnograms (PSG) through a research study which was conducted at eight facilities in the US and Europe. Read the rest of this entry

Overweight in children is most commonly described by using BMI. Because BMI does not adequately describe regional (central) adiposity, other indices of body fatness are being explored.

Neck circumference (NC) is positively associated with obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes, and hypertension in adults. NC also has positive correlation with BMI in adults. The possible role of NC in screening for high BMI in children is not well characterized. Read the rest of this entry

Obstructive sleep apnea has been related to increased cardiovascular risk. A recent research study examined the relationships between respiratory parameters and left ventricular abnormalities in obstructive sleep apnea.

One hundred and fifty newly diagnosed OSA patients without any known cardiovascular disease were included (age =49±11 years, BMI =27.1±3.3 kg·m^–2, respiratory disturbance index =41±18/h). Haemodynamic, biological, respiratory, cardiac and arterial parameters were assessed at inclusion. ^{Read the rest of this entry}

Physiologic changes of pregnancy may predispose females to develop sleep disordered breathing (SDB) or protect against it. Studies evaluating outcomes of SDB symptoms in pregnancy are scarce. The goal of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of SDB symptoms in pregnancy and their relationship with pregnancy and neonatal outcomes.

A cross-sectional survey of randomly selected immediate postpartum females was performed using the multivariable apnea prediction index. Record review including demographics and medical history was performed. Main outcome measures included pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Read the rest of this entry

Sleep related disorders (SRD) represent an important health burden and their prevalence increases with age.

In patients with snoring or sleepiness, the presence of expiratory flow limitation (EFL) using the Negative Expiratory Pressure (NEP) method is related to the Apnea/Hypopnea Index (AHI). In this study we examined whether EFL can be used to predict the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in healthy asymptomatic older subjects. Read the rest of this entry

The researchers in Switzerland measured age-specific prevalence of airflow obstruction (AO) in Switzerland in smokers and never smokers using pulmonary function tests and respiratory symptoms from 6126 subjects participating in the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults.

The lower limit of normal of FEV₁/FVC ratio was used to define AO. Severity of AO was graded according to the recommendations of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. Read the rest of this entry

A research study was concluded recently to estimate the population prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in an urban community of German third graders and the diagnostic test accuracy of two OSA screening methods.

Using a cross-sectional study design with a multi-stage sampling strategy, 27 out of 59 primary schools within the city limits of Hannover, Germany, were selected. One-thousand and forty-four (1044)  third graders were screened for symptoms of Sleep Apnea along with Symptoms and signs of OSA using questionnaires and nocturnal home pulse oximetry. Read the rest of this entry

To compare the sleep-disordered breathing prevalence among Hispanic and white Americans and Japanese, the researchers performed a one-night sleep study with a single channel airflow monitor on 211 Hispanics and 246 whites from the Minnesota Field Center of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), and 978 Japanese from three community-based cohorts of the Circulatory Risk in Communities Study (CIRCS) in Japan. Read the rest of this entry

Your eyes tell about overall health. 

A study concluded on people with sleep apnea found an amazing correlation with increased risk for glaucoma and stroke.In all 83 people with sleep apnea participated in this research study. Out of these 83 people in the study — fully one third had glaucoma!  

If you have sleep apnea you should see your eye doctor regularly and mention you have SA. Keep regular visits with your primary care physician to monitor blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and blood sugar.Symptoms of sleep apnea-which usually occur in overweight males, include daytime sleepiness, chronic fatigue, and decreased cognitive function.

Another study found 40 minutes of exercise per day (such as brisk walking), four days per week lowered pressure in the eyes as effectively as some eye drop medications! This means exercise can reduce your risk of glaucoma, or if you already have it, exercise will help your glaucoma medications work better.

According to a new research study findings theBerlin questionnaire performs poorly in predicting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in pregnant women compared to polysomnography. The detailed findings of this research study are published in the June issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Sofia A. Olivarez, M.D., of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and colleagues conducted a prospective clinical trial of 100 women in the third trimester of pregnancy to determine the ability of the Berlin sleep questionnaire to predict OSA. The women all underwent polysomnography with concurrent fetal heart monitoring (FHM).

The researchers observed that 20 percent of the cohort was diagnosed with OSA by polysomnography, considered the diagnostic gold-standard. The Berlin screening questionnaire was 35 percent as sensitive as polysomnography and 63.8 percent as specific in predicting OSA. Read the rest of this entry

According to new research that received the Graduate Student Research Award on June 5, at the 19th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, the ratio between tongue volume and bony enclosure size in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may help dentists calculate oral appliance treatment success.

The researchers assessed whether anatomical factors such as craniofacial size, upper-airway soft tissue volume, and/or the anatomical balance between them were associated with mandibular advancement splint (MAS) treatment outcome.

The study included 49 OSA patients. Patients were at least 18 years of age and had mild to severe sleep apnea. They were without other sleep disorders or serious comorbid medical or psychiatric disorders. Read the rest of this entry

According to the latest research stud report published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the air pollution could significantly elevate sleep related respiratory disorders.

According to researcher Diane Gold of the Harvard School of Public Health, air pollution can cause a “clinically significant” increase in symptoms such as shallow breathing and sleep apnea.

“You are at a 13% higher risk of having shallow breathing or stopping breathing for at least 10 seconds if pollution goes from the lower range to the higher range of pollution for that city,” Diane Gold stated.

Although this team of researchers has been successful in identifying a link between pollution and poor sleep quality but according to them causes for such links ae yet to be explored and known. “How much of the cardiac risk that can be explained by pollution, we don’t know yet,” she added. Read the rest of this entry