Sleep Apnea: Men 20-29 at Greatest Risk
Globes [online] reports on a new study into the risk of seep apnea fatality in men from different age groups.
The study was carried out by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. They studied almost 15,000 male sleep apnea sufferers between 1991 and 2000. They then compared their risk level with that of the general population.
Surprisingly it was the younger age group that had the higher risk of death. They proved to be ten times more likely to die from heart related problems than the general population.
By contrast, severe sleep apnea sufferers aged between 30 and 39 had a risk factor only three times greater than the general population whilst those over 50 showed no increased risk at all.
Lead researcher Professor Peretz Lavie said:
The study was carried out by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. They studied almost 15,000 male sleep apnea sufferers between 1991 and 2000. They then compared their risk level with that of the general population.
Surprisingly it was the younger age group that had the higher risk of death. They proved to be ten times more likely to die from heart related problems than the general population.
By contrast, severe sleep apnea sufferers aged between 30 and 39 had a risk factor only three times greater than the general population whilst those over 50 showed no increased risk at all.
Lead researcher Professor Peretz Lavie said:
"Older patients have more risk factors, especially cardiac ones, so we expected relative mortality to increase with age. The fact that they don't suggests that patients with sleep apnea develop a mechanism, as yet unknown, that protects their cardiovascular system."
