A large, government-funded study has shown that rates of sleep apnoea in America are rising as the population becomes increasingly obese.
Seven institutions took part in the study, measuring the sleep and breathing patterns of over 6,400 people and monitoring them for the next 8 years. They discovered that adults over 40 who suffered from disrupted breathing during sleep were nearly 50% more likely to die than those with normal breathing.
According to the National Institute of Health, over 12 million Americans suffer from sleep apnoea, but only 1 in 5 are aware they have the condition. The condition is becoming more common because it can be caused by excess fat around the neck and throat, which clogs the airways and causes temporary blockages that forces people to gasp for air. As the population gets heavier, more people have excess fat around their throat.
The co-author of the study and chairman of the department of preventative medicine at the University of Southern California, Jonathan Samet, said that the American obesity epidemic was of grave concern. He said that as almost 65% of adults were obese or overweight, disordered sleep was becoming more common.
Men are more likely to experience sleep apnoea than women by about 15% and the most common cause of death was heart disease.
Samet advised that anyone who snores at night and is sleepy during the day should consult their doctor. He added that losing weight or taking medication to boost the supply of oxygen to the body in the night could reduce the risk of associated heart problems.