Study finds maintaining an active lifestyle can reduce obstructive sleep apnea risk

467

A new study found that maintaining an active lifestyle can reduce the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), encouraging physicians to recommend exercise-based interventions for those at risk.

The findings of the study appeared in the ‘European Respiratory Journal’.

The new study by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital examined the relationship between active lifestyles and the risk of OSA.

The study followed around 130,000 men and women in the United States over a follow-up period of 10-to-18 years and found that higher levels of physical activity and lower levels of sedentary behaviour were associated with a lower risk of OSA.

OSA is a type of sleep apnea in which some muscles relax during sleep, causing an airflow blockage.

Severe OSA increases the risk of various heart issues, including abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure.

Using the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS), Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII) and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS), the research team used statistical modelling to compare physical activity and sedentary hours with diagnoses of OSA.

Both moderate and vigorous physical activity were examined separately and both were strongly correlated with lower risk of OSA, showing no appreciable differences in the intensity of activity.

Moreover, stronger associations were found for women, adults over the age of 65 and those with a BMI greater than or equal to 25 kg/m2.