Sleep Apnea

Use of positive airway pressure therapy decreased the risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in adults with obstructive sleep apnea, according to findings published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

A greater proportion of U.S. adults said treating sleep apnea was “extremely” or “moderately” important vs. “minimally” or “not at all important,” according to survey data from the National Sleep Foundation and Inspire Medical Systems Inc.

My residency director, David Carey, used to say ironically, “If you step back and take a careful look, you’ll see there’s a whole patient behind that eyeball.”

The cover story in this issue of Healio | OSN provides a comprehensive review of obstructive sleep apnea and its potential impact on the body and eye. I will emphasize a few of the extensive points discussed.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common breathing-related sleep disorder, with a growing prevalence due to the aging population and the rise of obesity.

Sleep apnea is still an underrecognized and underdiagnosed condition. Many people who have this disorder are not aware of it or never step forward to seek diagnosis and treatment.

Trauma from childhood and adulthood were associated with worse measured uninterrupted sleep and worse self-reported sleep quality for midlife women, researchers reported in Menopause.

Poor sleep quality may be linked to higher mortality for adults on hemodialysis, data show.

Women who reported snoring or having poor diet quality during their first trimester were more likely to develop a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, increasing their risk for cardiovascular events after delivery, researchers reported.

Pediatric patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea and a vitamin D deficiency faced more severe sleep apnea vs. those without this deficiency, according to results published in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.