People with severe sleep apnea five times more likely to die from cancer, study shows

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(CBS News) Sleep apnea is a problem that goes well beyond annoying your partner with loud snoring. Research is showing it can raise risk for heart attacks, stroke and diabetes. Now, a new study finds it can make a person five times more likely to die from cancer.

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For the study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,  researchers collaborated with Spanish scientists to examine 22-year mortality data on 1,522 people enrolled in a long-running "Wisconsin Sleep Cohort" study. The data looked at  Washington state employees since 1989.

Every four years, the subjects underwent overnight sleep studies, including a polysomnography - an all-night recording of sleep and breathing. The researchers determined - after accounting for other risk factors like smoking and obesity - that people with severe sleep apnea were 4.8 times more likely to die from cancer. The association was stronger among non-obese subjects, compared with obese ones.

The study was a collaboration with other research from the University of Barcelona, that found inadequate oxygen - which is indicative of sleep apnea and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) - could increase tumor growth in mice. Like the human study, the effect was stronger in lean mice, compared with obese ones.

"Clearly, there is a correlation, and we are a long way from proving that sleep apnea causes cancer or contributes to its growth," study author Dr. F. Javier Nieto, chair of the department of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, said in a news release. "But animal studies have shown that the intermittent hypoxia (an inadequate supply of oxygen) that characterizes sleep apnea promotes angiogenesis--increased vascular growth--and tumor growth. Our results suggest that SDB is also associated with an increased risk of cancer mortality in humans."

About 28 million Americans have sleep apnea, The New York Times reported, but many cases go undiagnosed.

"This is really big news," Dr. Joseph Golish, a professor of sleep medicine with the MetroHealth System in Cleveland who was not involved in the research, told the Times. "It's the first time this has been shown, and it looks like a very solid association," he said. "Until disproven, it would be one more reason to get your apnea treated or to get it diagnosed if you think you might have it."

Dr. Steven Park, a sleep medicine specialist and otorhinolaryngologist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City and was not involved in the new study, told HealthDay that he wasn't surprised by the findings.

"This goes along with the link between sleep apnea and pretty much every chronic medical condition out there," Park said

Symptoms of sleep apnea include excessive sleepiness during the day, loud snoring, observed episodes of stopping breathing during sleep, waking up with a dry mouth and/or morning headaches or insomnia, according to the Mayo Clinic. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea so talk to your doctor if you are feeling fatigued, sleepy and irritable.

[stapes1stapes1]

Perhaps more widely using of CPAP, decreases oxidative stress also decreases the risk of cancers.

Sources:

Effects of CPAP on oxidative stress and nitrate efficiency in sleep apnoea: a randomised trial. (http://thorax.bmj.com/content/64/7/581)

http://www.saglikhaber.info/HorlamaVeUykuApneSendromu.html

[stapes1stapes1]

Hi, very interesting article.

Mediterranean diet and exercise can reduce sleep apnea symptoms with its possible anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

Mediterranean diet combined with physical activity can help to improve some of the sleep apnea symptoms.

Sources:

C. Papandreou, S. E. Schiza, I. Bouloukaki, C. M. Hatzis, A. G. Kafatos, N. M. Siafakas, N. E. Tzanakis. Effect of mediterranean diet vs prudent diet combined with physical activity on OSAS: a randomised trial. European Respiratory Journal, 2011; DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00103411)
European Lung Foundation (2011, November 28). Mediterranean diet and exercise can reduce sleep apnea symptoms. ScienceDaily
http://www.saglikhaber.info/BademcikGenizEtiAmeliyatiEtkileri.html

[sunnychanafdc]

stop snoring in Birmingham, visit the Westbourne centre

www.westbournecentre.com

[TerriTmj]

Oops.. I made a mistake.. I meant to say that every night I go to bed I will think of you and your husband and MAKE sure to use my cpap no matter what. This really hit home with me.

[bynth]

I'm writing on the subject of sleep apnea.I don't have it but my husband did.I did watch and listen to it.He got his machine about 4 years ago and loved it because he said it made him have more energy and he didn't feel tired all of the time.He was a long haul trucker for 35 years.We had been together for 45 years.Then one evening he decided to have a little nap and didn't put his machine on and went asleep.He never woke up from that sleep.I came home to find him dead.Please if you are reading this...and have never done anything for yourself..and you have sleep apnea or think you may have it get a machine.Yes they are expensive but arn't you worth it?Your better-half would say yes you are.Please don't put them in the pain that I'm going through now.Doing nothing will someday kill you and maybe others.I took my husband's machine and"Gave" it to someone else who has sleep apnea and couldn't afford one.Look around your home and do without some of the toys we all have and get a machine because you won't be around to use them if you don't.Personally I hope it is made law.Iknow first hand.If you love your family get help.I would give up everything I have to have my husband back..one stupid decission changed my life forever and our childrens.

[justweenus2012]

Thank you bynth for your comments! It is so sad that your husband was doing what he needed to do and wearing his mask regularly and only meant to take a "little nap." You are so right, though. Even an unanticipated nap in front of the TV can be dangerous for those who have sleep apnea. I do have it and have encountered many others who have it but refuse to get treatment. Untreated apnea not only disturbs and worries your sleep partner; it shortens your life and can shorten the lives of others. (Nodding off while driving is a common problem.) I hate my mask, but I love my life; wearing it is a very small price to pay. I do have one question about this study. Did those involved have untreated sleep apnea, or were they wearing their CPAP masks throughout the study? This makes a big difference in the interpretaion of the results!

[TerriTmj]

Hi Bynth.. I wanted to thank you for sharing your story. My husband just came to me and told me about this article and if you have sleep apnea you are 5 times more likely to have cancer. I have severe complex sleep apnea and went for about 10 years not ever knowing. About a year and a half ago I got a cpap but my sleep doctor gave me the wrong machine for my central apnea and so I did not wear it. About a month ago I finally got the correct machine and I am trying to hard to use it every night. Reading your story about your husband really made me so sad for you and for everyone who's loved one passes away from this condition. Every night I go to bed I will think of you and your husband and I will not make the decision to use my cpap no matter what. It was so nice of you to take the time to tell everyone your story. I can only imagine how difficult this is for you to lose your husband especially since he had the machine that could have kept him alive. I have heard and read that sleep apnea can kill you but for some reason I never really believed it or thought that it would never happen to me. I am so sorry for your loss. It is wonderful that you donated your husbands cpap machine to someone who could not afford one. That just shows what a caring person you are and I love that about you. I hope your pain will get easier and I thank you again for taking the time to share your story with us. You probably just changed someone's life because you shared your story with everyone who reads it. This definetly makes me think twice before I go to sleep and refuse to use my machine. May god bless you!