Cancer more common in females with severe sleep apnea

ISLAMBAD, February 13 (Online): The recent study, which features in the European Respiratory Journal, analyzed data on 20,000 adults with sleep apnea.

About 2% of the participants also had a diagnosis of cancer in their medical history.

The data came from the European Sleep Apnea Database (ESADA), which has medical and visit records on adults registered at 33 centers across Europe.

The international research team points out that while the findings do not prove that sleep apnea causes cancer, there appears to be a clear link in females.

“It’s reasonable to assume that sleep apnea is a risk factor for cancer or that both conditions have common risk factors, such as [being] overweight,” says Ludger Grote, an adjunct professor and chief physician in sleep medicine at Gothenburg University in Sweden.

“On the other hand,” he adds, “it is less likely that cancer leads to sleep apnea.”

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), or sleep apnea, is a condition in which a person experiences short and repeated interruptions of breathing while asleep. The condition results from the inability of the throat muscles to keep the airway open.

There is another form of apnea called central sleep apnea, which occurs due to a failure in brain signaling. Of the two types of apnea, OSA is by far the most common.

OSA can cause disturbed, fragmented sleep and lead to an insufficiency of oxygen. The combination of low oxygen and sleep disruption can give rise to high blood pressure, heart disease, memory problems, and mood disturbance.

The estimate comes from studies that used formal tests and assessments. The NSF suggest that the actual percentage of people in the U.S. with sleep apnea is likely to be greater.

“The condition of sleep apnea is well-known to the general public and associated with snoring, daytime fatigue, and elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in men,” Dr. Grote explains.

He and his colleagues note that while there is growing evidence for a link between OSA and cancer, it remains under debate. The main reason appears to be the small numbers of study participants and “poor characterization” of types of OSA and cancer.