Sleep Disorders News

Obstructive sleep apnea is common during pregnancy, with prevalence estimates ranging from 10.5% in the first trimester to 26.7% in the third trimester, according to a study published in Thorax.

Care provided by a sleep specialist or non-sleep specialist, such as a primary care physician, resulted in similar outcomes in patients with suspected or diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea, according to research published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Taiwanese adults diagnosed with insomnia have a 16% greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes over 9 years compared with those reporting adequate sleep, and the risk increases with insomnia duration, study data show.

Sleep-disordered breathing, or SDB, was associated with a higher risk for cognitive impairment and a slight worsening in executive function, according to findings published in JAMA Neurology.

Adults with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome may have abnormal glycemic variability compared with their healthy counterparts, which may suggest a need for its earlier detection and control, according to findings published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.

Automated analysis of nighttime oximetry could lead to more timely interventions and possibly enhanced outcomes in children with obstructive sleep apnea, according to findings recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Clinical Care Medicine.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder that causes people to stop breathing during sleep, and, according to the National Sleep Foundation, it affects more than 18 million American adults. The disorder is characterized by a person experiencing one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while sleeping, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The length of breathing pauses vary from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur 30 times or more an hour. Individuals typically begin to breathe normally after pauses, which usually is identified with a loud snort or choking sound, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Sleep apnea tends to be a chronic condition and causes individuals to routinely move out of a deep sleep and into a light sleep.

Adults with obesity who underwent gastric bypass surgery were twice as likely to initiate or increase their use of sleep medications in the 3 years after the procedure vs. matched adults who initiated intensive lifestyle modification instead of surgery, according to published findings.

Patients with sleep apnea displayed lower apnea–hypopnea indexes and improved subjective sleepiness when treated with dronabinol compared with placebo, but clinical trials are warranted to identify the best approach to cannabinoid therapy in these patients, according to data presented at SLEEP 2017, the Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

SomnaPatch, a new skin-adhesive diagnostic patch, provided significant clinical value for the detection of sleep apnea across all severity levels, compared with standard in-lab polysomnography, according to data presented at SLEEP 2017.