Sleep Apnea Could Mean More Hospitalizations
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, June 4, 2024 -- Folks with sleep apnea are more likely to require hospitalization for an ailment, a new study shows.
People aged 50 and older with sleep apnea have 21% higher odds of hospitalization compared to those without the breathing disorder, researchers report.
“The findings hold true even after taking into account other factors that may contribute to an increased risk of health service utilization” like excess weight, poor health and depression, said lead researcher Christopher Kaufmann, an assistant professor of health outcomes and biomedical informatics at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
Sleep apnea occurs when the upper airway collapses during sleep, cutting off breathing and causing a person to fitfully wake up throughout the night.
Untreated sleep apnea has been linked to health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, heart rhythm problems, stroke and type 2 diabetes, researchers said.
For this study, they analyzed data from more than 20,000 participants in the Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing project tracking the health problems of aging.
Participants were surveyed about their sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, in 2016. About 12% said they had been diagnosed with sleep apnea.
Two years later, the participants were asked about hospitalizations and use of health services.
The results, which were published recently in the journal Sleep and presented Monday at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Houston, show that treating sleep apnea can keep older adults out of the hospital, Kaufmann said. Still, such research is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
“Addressing sleep apnea can not only improve individual health outcomes but also alleviate the strain on health care resources, leading to more efficient and effective health care delivery,” Kaufmann said in a meeting news release.
Sources
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine, news release, June 3, 2024
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted June 2024
Read this next
GLP-1 Medicine Mounjaro May Be First Drug to Ease Sleep Apnea
FRIDAY, June 21, 2024 -- A medication used to manage type 2 diabetes has been found effective in treating sleep apnea. The worldwide clinical trial demonstrates that tirzepatide...
Trouble Getting Your Kids to Sleep? You're Not Alone, Poll Finds
MONDAY, June 17, 2024 -- Nearly 1 in 4 parents struggle to get their child to sleep, a new poll reports. Some of this is related to poor sleep hygiene, but some also is due to...
Moving Off the Couch Brings Healthy Aging: Study Finds Benefit
TUESDAY, June 11, 2024 -- It's tempting to binge-watch TV, but yet another study finds that when it comes to healthy aging, the less time on your sofa, the better. The study...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.
