Sleep Apnea Risk Factors: Dangers Of Untreated Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) is linked to a decreased quality of life as well as an increased risk of vehicle collisions, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndromes, and mental health conditions.

Sleep apnea is a lifestyle condition affecting approximately 1 in 12 (4.4%) Americans, with around 1 in 27 (3.68%) people living with undiagnosed sleep apnea. The dangers and costs of undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea are astounding, with some recent estimates of $11.1 billion in indirect expenditures (e.g., motor vehicle accidents and work productivity loss) and $3.1 billion in direct costs for screening and treatment.

Considering the severity of the risks associated with sleep apnea, the most concerning aspect of this condition is that it often goes undiagnosed. This is why ApriaDirect endeavors to raise awareness surrounding the risks associated with sleep apnea as well as facilitate accessible treatment options across the country. This guide uncovers the risk factors associated with untreated sleep apnea.

Having Trouble Getting A Good Night's Sleep?

The most common occurrences of sleep apnea can be described as either obstructive sleep apnea or central sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea happens when the patient is asleep and trying to breathe, but the airflow is blocked. When it comes to central sleep apnea, the brain does not transmit enough signals to the muscles to initiate breathing.

Discover some of the more prominent Sleep Apnea signs and symptoms.

Who Is At Risk Of Developing Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea syndrome affects approximately 25% of males and 10% of females. The condition can affect individuals of all ages, including newborns and toddlers, although generally, it is more common in adults over 50 and those who are overweight or obese. In addition, there are specific physical characteristics and clinical features that increase the risk of sleep apnea.

Risk Factors For Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea risk factors include:

• Family History: Many patients are genetically predisposed to disruptive snoring or OSA.

• Obesity: Approximately two-thirds of OSA patients are overweight or obese.

• Facial Configurations: Certain features such as large neck circumference, smaller lower jaw, narrowed airways, and enlarged tonsils can increase the risk of OSA.

• Hormones: Conditions that result in hormonal imbalance, such as hypothyroidism (low levels of thyroid hormone), acromegaly (high levels of growth hormone), or post-menopausal women.

• Medical Conditions: Complications such as Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and congestive heart failure significantly increase the risk of OSA. In addition, a history of chronic lung illnesses like asthma, stroke, and polycystic ovarian syndrome all increase the risk of developing sleep apnea.

• Alcohol, Sedatives, or Tranquilizer Consumption: These medications relax the throat muscles, which might aggravate obstructive sleep apnea symptoms.

Risk Factors For Central Sleep Apnea

This less frequent form of sleep apnea happens when the brain is unable to send signals to the breathing muscles. The result is that the patient makes no effort to breathe at certain durations during the night, often waking with shortness of breath and having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

Among the risk factors for central sleep apnea are:

• Altitude: Air pressures and sleep disruptions when sleeping at high altitudes increase the occurrence of central sleep apnea.

• Stroke: A stroke causes an increase in the likelihood of developing central sleep apnea.

• Narcotic Painkillers: Methadone and other long-acting opioid medicines boost the risk of central sleep apnea.

• Heart Conditions: Congestive heart failure raises the likelihood.

• Gender-related: Central sleep apnea is more prevalent among men.

• Age-Related: Central sleep apnea is prevalent in middle-aged and senior individuals.

Are you increasing your risk of sleep apnea? Take this quiz to find out if some of your current habits are worsening sleep apnea.

How Is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed?

A specialist will conduct an examination based on symptoms and sleep history, which sleep apnea patients can collect with the assistance of a bed partner or family member.

You will likely be directed to a facility for sleep disorders. There, a sleep expert will conduct further testing to determine a sleep apnea diagnosis.

An examination at a sleep center often includes continuously monitoring your breathing patterns and other physiological functions while sleeping. Home sleep testing is also an option.

The following tests are used to identify and diagnose sleep apnea.

Clinical Sleep Apnea Testing

Clinical or hospital-grade tests are performed using nocturnal polysomnography. Here, you will be linked up to tech that measures your:

• Blood oxygen levels

• Arm and leg movements

• Breathing patterns

• Brain, lung, and heart activity

Home Sleep Apnea Testing

Your specialist may prescribe simple tests to do at home. Home sleep apnea tests measure your:

• Breathing patterns

• Airflow

• Blood oxygen level

• Heart rate

Your doctor can prescribe the treatment without requiring additional testing if the findings are abnormal. However, since portable monitoring equipment cannot identify all forms of sleep apnea, you may still prescribe polysomnography even if the first set of results is benign.

Understanding The Results

The apnea-hypopnea index is used to grade the severity of obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis on a scale from 0 (no apnea) to 30 (persistent apnea). The AHI is designed to assess the number of times your breathing stops for 10 seconds or more throughout an hour of sleep.

The severity of obstructive sleep apnea may be broken down into the following categories once diagnostic testing is performed and data is collected.

• Over 30 on the AHI scale indicates severe obstructive sleep apnea (more than 30 episodes per hour)

• Between 15 and 30 indicates moderate obstructive sleep apnea

• Between 5 and 15 indicates mild obstructive sleep apnea

Sleep apnea treatment depends on the severity of the disorder, the presence or absence of associated symptoms, and the patient's overall health.

Understanding The Health Risks Of Untreated Sleep Apnea

If left untreated, sleep apnea may result in a variety of health issues. This is because sleep apnea can cause:

• Repeated instances of oxygen deprivation (hypoxia)

• Changes in carbon dioxide levels

• Direct effects on the heart owing to pressure changes inside the chest

• Increased levels of inflammation

• Severe sleep disruption

The resulting effect can lead to the following sleep apnea complications:

Daytime Exhaustion: The frequent awakenings caused by sleep apnea make regular, restorative sleep impossible, resulting in significant daytime sleepiness, weariness, and irritability.

You may find it challenging to concentrate and fall asleep at work, while watching TV, or even while driving. People who suffer from sleep apnea are more likely to be involved in car accidents and occupational incidents. Children and adolescents with sleep apnea may often struggle in school or develop behavioral problems.

Affect On Partner: Disruptive snoring can prevent anybody sleeping nearby from enjoying a good night's sleep. This can end up in a partner sleeping in a different room, and at times, the disruption has been found to cause tension in relationships when left untreated.

Metabolic Syndrome: This is a range of health complications that have been connected to OSA. Metabolic syndrome denotes the presence of at least three of the following conditions:

• High blood sugar levels

• Low "good" HDL cholesterol levels

• High levels of triglycerides (fat)

• Increase fat around the waist

• High blood pressure

Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, or stroke.

Memory Loss: Elderly patients have an increased occurrence of memory loss or cognitive issues referred to as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The symptoms aren't as severe as dementia, and not everyone with MCI develops dementia. Memory loss from MCI often appears sooner if a person experiences "sleep-disordered breathing" disease such as obstructive sleep apnea. However, treating OSA may prevent memory problems from worsening.

Respiratory Complications: Sleep apnea makes asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms worse by preventing your body from getting enough oxygen while you sleep. The usual challenges of physical activity, such as increased heart rate and breathing rate, may also be aggravated by sleep apnea.

Heart Complications: High blood pressure or cardiac issues. Sudden reductions in blood oxygen levels caused by sleep apnea raise blood pressure and put a strain on the cardiovascular system. Obstructive sleep apnea can increase the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure).

Obstructive sleep apnea raises your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or irregular heartbeats, such as atrial fibrillation. In addition, multiple occurrences of lower blood oxygen (hypoxia or hypoxemia) might cause an irregular heartbeat in patients with heart disease, resulting in sudden death.

Liver Complications: Sleep apnea patients are more likely to experience abnormal results on liver function tests and are more likely to exhibit symptoms of scarring associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Diabetes Type 2: Sleep apnea raises your chances of developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Inadequate sleep can prevent your body from adequately processing insulin.

Depression: Two of the most common co-occurring disorders are depression and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is on the rise as the prevalence of obesity increases and because of this, depression rates are also on the rise. Sleep apnea, anxiety, and depression are all symptoms that manifest in individuals with OSA, and early detection and treatment will positively impact their health and the associated healthcare costs and burdens.

Death: Because of the irregular breathing patterns associated with sleep apnea, the heart or brain can suffer acute tissue ischemia (tissue death from lack of oxygen), potentially leading to a deadly heart attack or stroke.

Accessible, Affordable, And Effective Sleep Apnea Treatment With ApriaDirect

With untreated sleep apnea, life expectancy and life quality can be severely affected. If suspected signs and symptoms of sleep apnea have been detected by either you or a partner or family member, it is highly recommended to approach a healthcare professional for diagnosis and sleep apnea treatment. Discover more about available Sleep Apnea treatments.

Your doctor may suggest a device called a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. A CPAP machine supplies just enough air pressure to a mask to keep your upper airway passages open, reducing snoring and alleviating the symptoms and risks of sleep apnea. This restores the quality of life and reduces the risks of untreated sleep apnea.

ApriaDirect ensures that CPAP devices, as well as all replacement components and upgrades, are readily available from the convenience of our online medical supply platform. We have curated a collection of premium quality CPAP machines with varying features and air pressure levels to provide options to suit any lifestyle.

Two of our highest performing CPAP devices in terms of affordability, efficacy, portability, and ease of use are:

1. Fisher & Paykel SleepStyle Auto CPAP Machine
2. ResMed™ AirSense 10 AutoSet™ with Humidifier

ApriaDirect is passionate about improving the quality of life for all Americans. Keep an eye on our online medical supply platform for amazing deals and discounts. Looking for something specific? Our agents are on call every day between 8:00 am and 10 pm EST and ready to answer your questions, queries, and concerns. Get in touch today.