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Intentional weight loss decreases daytime sleepiness
Intentional weight loss after surgical or nonsurgical interventions improves excessive daytime sleepiness in adults with overweight or obesity, according to findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis.
“Obesity leads to excessive daytime sleepiness which has been associated with increased risk of accidents, injuries and reduced academic and work performances,” Winda Liviya Ng, BMedSc, a PhD candidate at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, told Endocrine Today. “This study shows that weight loss interventions are likely to improve daytime sleepiness in individuals who are overweight or obese. Clinicians should be advised to screen for excessive daytime sleepiness in individuals with obesity. On another note, the finding of improved daytime sleepiness after weight loss may further motivate individuals with obesity to lose weight.”
Ng and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on 42 studies with 2,284 adults (mean age, 48.4 years; 61.9% men) to determine whether and to what extent intentional weight loss affects daytime sleepiness.
A moderate to large beneficial effect was found for surgical weight-loss interventions on daytime sleepiness (roughly equivalent to a 4.8-point reduction in Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores). A small to moderate beneficial effect was found for nonsurgical weight-loss interventions on daytime sleepiness (roughly equivalent to a 2.6-point reduction in Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores).
Greater improvements in daytime sleepiness were associated with surgical weight-loss interventions, lower mean age, higher baseline weight/BMI and higher baseline Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores.
Although daytime sleepiness improved with weight loss, an increasing magnitude of weight loss decreased the degree of daytime sleepiness improvement.
“We need to study the pathways through which weight loss improves daytime sleepiness to better understand the relationship between obesity and excessive daytime sleepiness and hence provide a more targeted management strategy for excessive daytime sleepiness in individuals with obesity,” Ng told Endocrine Today. “Future studies may also assess whether the dose-response relationship between the amount of weight loss and the degree of improvement in daytime sleepiness is influenced by the method through which weight loss is achieved (eg, physical activity, diet). Further, upcoming studies on weight loss interventions may include measures of sleep such as daytime sleepiness, sleep duration, sleep quality, use of sleep medications and a range of other sleep problems and disorders as potential outcomes.” – by Amber Cox
For more information:
Winda Liviya Ng, BMedSc , can be reached at The Baker Institute, Level 4, 99 Commercial Road, Melbourne 3004; email: winda.liviya@bakeridi.edu.au or winda.ng@deakin.edu.au.
Disclosure: Ng reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.