Obesity can cause sleep apnea

A study, led by Dr. Peter Hallowell, a University Hospitals bariatric surgeon was carried out in the University Hospital of Clevelannd .In the study it was found that there are nine in every ten patients who are awaiting weight loss surgery are suffering from sleep apnea which is a more percentage.

Nineteen percent of 249 patients were diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea during December 2003 to August 2005. These patients were tested in sleep labs before the surgery and found the condition in 91 percent of these patients.

Dr. Peter Hallowell, a University Hospitals bariatric surgeon said, “It's a medical disease that is really under-recognized. Hypertension is known as the silent killer and sleep apnea is the same exact thing. People are going to work every day, getting sleepy during the day, getting sleepy behind the wheel and getting in accidents. There's a certain public health concern with this. That's one of the big take-home messages of this.”

Sleep apnea is a condition that causes people to stop breathing for 10 to 20 seconds during sleep, sometimes as often as 20 to 30 times an hour. It can lead to hypertension, daytime sleepiness, mood swings, headaches and depression.

Hallowell said said, “Most studies have estimated that 30 percent to 50 percent of obese people have sleep apnea. Finding that the percentage appears to be closer to 90 percent is shocking. This is something that a lot of people just don't know. We need to get the word out that people who are morbidly obese are at risk of this. Even if they're not considering bariatric surgery, they should be evaluated" for sleep apnea.Deitra Byrd, a 62-year-old retired nurse from Akron, said she had sleep apnea "for four or five years and I had no idea.”

Deitra Byrd, a 62-year-old retired nurse from Akron, said,"For four or five years and I had no idea. I think a lot of people have it and just don't know. I could sleep again," she said. "I was rested, where before I'd wake up and feel like I'd been hit by a Mack truck. I knew I went to bed at a decent hour, but I didn't feel rested. The weight had a lot to do with that"

She added, "I could sleep again.I was rested, where before I'd wake up and feel like I'd been hit by a Mack truck. I knew I went to bed at a decent hour, but I didn't feel rested. The weight had a lot to do with that."

A study which was published in the American Journal of Surgery pointed out that beside obesity the narrowed airway, high blood pressure, smoking, being older than 65, having a family history of the condition and use of alcohol, sedatives or tranquilizers can be the cause of sleep apnea.

Hallowell said, “The next step is to track patients after surgery to see how many of those who had sleep apnea before surgery managed to get rid of it after surgery, while also determining the percent of excess body weight a person has to lose to see a positive difference and whether they have to lose the weight within a certain period of time.”