Poor air quality may worsen sleep apnoea: Study

Higher levels of air pollution may not only harm your lungs but also worsen health for people with obstructive sleep apnea OSA according to a multinational study that strengthened the connection between environmental health and sleep medicineWhile OSA is a common condition many people do not realise they have it People with OSA often snore loudly their breathing starts and stops during the night and they may wake up several timesThe study presented at the European Respiratory Society ERS Congress in Amsterdam the Netherlands revealed that overall for every one unit increase in PM10 tiny particles 10 micrometers or smaller released into the air by vehicle exhausts and industrial processes there was a modest but measurable increase in the patients apnoea hypopnea index AHIAHI is the number of apnoeas when breathing stops and hypopnoeas when breathing is reduced per hour during sleepFor example among patients with low AHI less than five the average PM10 in the area where they live was relatively low around 16 micrograms per cubic meter of airIn contrast in patients with high AHI five or more the average PM10 was also higher around 19 micrograms per cubic meter of airWe know that OSA is more common in people who are older or overweight but theres growing concern that air pollution also might make the condition worse said Martino Pengo Associate Professor from the University of MilanoBicocca and clinician at Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS Milan ItalyThe study included data on 19325 patients with OSA from 25 different cities in 14 countriesThe study found differences between the strength of the link between air pollution and OSA in different citiesWe confirmed a statistically significant positive association between average longterm exposure to air pollution specifically fine particles known as PM10 and the severity of obstructive sleep apnoea Pengo saidEven after we took account for other factors that we know have an effect on OSA we still found an average increase in the number of respiratory events per hour of sleep of 041 for every one unit increase in PM10 Pengo addedThe research highlights the need to consider environmental factors like air quality alongside other risk factors when treating people with OSAThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever