Q&A: Advancing research on Latin American women with obstructive sleep apnea

Key takeaways

• A grant winner is planning to research phenotypes of obstructive sleep apnea in Latin American women.
• Findings from this research will aid in treating this underrepresented patient population.

There is currently a lack of research on obstructive sleep apnea in Latin American women, and one researcher plans to change that with a grant from the CHEST Foundation and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation.

According to a press release from the American College of Chest Physicians, the Research Grant in Sleep Medicine is given to a researcher with a topic that will push the sleep medicine field forward and lead to better patient outcomes.

Gonzalo Labarca, MD, winner of the 2022 grant and instructor in medicine within the division of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, hopes his research on OSA in the underrepresented population of Latin American women will uncover OSA phenotypes that will ultimately aid in treating this specific group, according to the release.

Healio spoke with Labarca to learn more about his research topic, the inspiration behind selecting this topic and benefits that will come out of this research.

Healio: What is currently known about OSA in Latin American women? Why is there a lack of research on this condition in these patients?

Labarca: Similar to other geographical areas, most literature regarding OSA in women interprets studies where most of the population is men. Limited studies have explored the clinical characteristics, comorbidities and pato-physiological changes in women. Additionally, Latin America is a geographical area with different race/ethnicity backgrounds, altitude above sea level, acculturation and health access. In this project, we are trying to address these characteristics.

Healio: What inspired you to want to research OSA in Latin American women?

Labarca: I come from a Latin American country (Chile), and I see people from different Latin American countries with various clinical features, phenotypes and acculturation. Most of the current literature refers to Latin/Hispanic populations. Still, different subtypes of populations with different heritage need to be included in the sleep medicine field.

Healio: What do you hope to achieve with your research?

Labarca: The main achievement of this research will be 1) to establish a collaboration network with different sleep clinics from Latin America; 2) to describe the clinical phenotypes of OSA in Latin American women and the association with adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment in the short term; and 3) to describe within countries differences regarding altitude, acculturation and across the woman’s life. This project aims to include underrepresented populations in the field, providing local data and increasing the opportunities for scientific collaboration in Latin America.

Healio: How will your research potentially benefit Latin American women? How will it also potentially benefit OSA research as a whole?

Labarca: This research can help treat Latin American women following a precision medicine approach, incorporating specific clinical characteristics and relevant medical history, and identifying novel OSA markers of better response to CPAP therapy.

Healio: What are the overarching goals you want to accomplish with your research efforts?

Labarca: I want to create a collaboration network established in Latin America, incorporating local data from Latin America into the Sleep Medicine field, especially data from underrepresented populations such as Latin American women.

For more information:

Gonzalo Labarca, MD, can be reached at glabarcat@gmail.com.

Reference:

• The American College of Chest Physicians and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation advance sleep research in 2023 through partnership grant. https://www.chestnet.org/Newsroom/Press-Releases/2023/03/CHEST-and-AASM-Foundation-Partnership-Grant. Published March 7, 2023. Accessed March 7, 2023.