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Obstructive sleep apnea linked ups spine fracture risk in women: Other health risks of this condition

Obstructive sleep apnea linked ups spine fracture risk in women: Other health risks of this condition
If you do not get proper sleep, your body undergoes a high level of stress. It can lead to hormonal imbalance, which, in turn, can cause your blood pressure levels to shoot up. @Shutterstock

Experts say that women with a history of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may face a higher risk of spine or vertebral fractures. Read on to know other health risks.

Written by Jahnavi Sarma |Updated : September 15, 2020 9:05 AM IST

Obstructive sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. Risk factors include age and obesity. It's more common in men. Symptoms include snoring loudly and feeling tired even after a full night's sleep. Now, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in the US have found that women with a history of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may face a higher risk of spine or vertebral fractures. Emerging evidence suggests that OSA may negatively affect bone health. No prospective study to date has investigated the association between OSA and fracture risk in women.

Researchers conducted a prospective study examining the relation between OSA and the risk of incident vertebral fracture (VF) and hip fracture (HF) in the Nurses' Health Study. For the findings, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, the investigators examined data pertaining to 55,264 women without a prior history of bone fractures. According to the researchers, OSA was self-reported in 1.3 per cent of participants in 2002 and increased to 3.3 per cent by 2012. The study revealed that between 2002 and 2014, 461 vertebral fractures and 921 hip fractures occurred.

WOMEN WITH OSA HAD A 2-FOLD HIGHER RISK OF VERTEBRAL FRACTURE

Women with a history of OSA had a 2-fold higher risk of vertebral fracture relative to those with no OSA history, with the strongest association observed for OSA associated with daytime sleepiness. However, the study also revealed that no association was observed between OSA history and risk of hip fracture. This study provides important evidence at the population level that obstructive sleep apnea may have an adverse impact on bone health that is particularly relevant to the development of vertebral fracture. Researchers are hopeful that future studies could use more deeply characterized data to further the understanding of the mechanisms linking sleep apnea to bone health and fracture risk.

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OTHER HEALTH RISKS OF OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA

If you have OSA, it may increase your risk of many chronic health conditions. Here, we list a few of them.

Hypertension

If you do not get proper sleep, your body undergoes a high level of stress. It can lead to hormonal imbalance, which, in turn, can cause your blood pressure levels to shoot up. This condition makes you stop breathing intermittently while sleeping. This can bring down your oxygen level, which can compound the problem of hypertension. Timely treatment for OSA can make a huge difference on your blood pressure levels.

Heart disease

This condition may significantly increase your risk of having a heart attack. It can also lead to strokes and atrial fibrillation. The reason behind this may be low oxygen level in the body. If you suffer from sleep apnea, oxygen flow to your body is disrupted. This makes it hard for your brain to control how blood flows in your arteries and the brain itself.

Type 2 diabetes

Almost 80 per cent of people with OSA suffer from type 2 diabetes. Improper sleep makes it difficult for your body to use insulin in an effective manner. This leads to type 2 diabetes. Lack of sleep can also cause obesity, which is another risk factor of type 2 diabetes.

(With inputs from IANS)