Longitudinal Study of Moderate Weight Change and Sleep-Disordered Breathing

Abstract

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), a condition characterized by repeated episodes of apnea and hypopnea events during sleep, is highly prevalent among adults in the United States and other Western countries.^1-6 The high prevalence has raised concerns of the public health burden of SDB because of demonstrated cross-sectional and retrospective associations between SDB and behavioral^7-15 and cardiovascular^16-23 morbidity. Recently, indicators of even mild SDB have been significantly related to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and mortality in population-based prospective studies.^24-27 Although nightly use of continuous positive airway pressure can prevent apnea and hypopnea events, this therapy poses too high a life-long patient burden to be practical for mild or asymptomatic SDB. Thus, risk-factor modification may be the most feasible way to reduce the prevalence of SDB on a large scale.