Science and Your Health

A Sleep Treatment's Dual Benefits

A popular treatment for sleep apnea may also help people with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the Feb. 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Researchers found that treating sleep apnea with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) not only helped the 25 participants sleep better, but also significantly reduced their blood sugar (or glucose) levels when administered for at least four hours a day. Lower glucose levels can help reduce a diabetic's risk of developing late-stage complications including cardiovascular and kidney disease.

"If you have diabetes and risk factors for sleep apnea, you should get diagnosed because there is an effective treatment and management of sleep apnea that seems to help with the management of diabetes too," said coauthor Dr. James Herdegen, associate professor of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and medical director of the Center for Sleep and Ventilatory Disorders at the University of Illinois Medical Center.

Tip: CPAP is the most common treatment option for sleep apnea and involves wearing a mask that supplies a steady stream of air through the nose during sleep. The airflow keeps the nasal passages open sufficiently to prevent airway collapse and apnea (a condition that causes people to stop breathing frequently during the night). More severe cases of sleep apnea may require surgery. Women and Sleep Apnea

Women with obstructive sleep apnea are more likely to be treated for depression and to have insomnia and hypothyroidism than men with the same degree of obstructive sleep apnea, according to a study published in the March issue of the journal Sleep, the official publication of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. The study found that men diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea are more likely to have a history of apnea (witnessed by a spouse or family member), consume more caffeinated beverages and admit to greater alcohol consumption. "We used to think apnea was rare in women. We now know that is not true; instead it may be that women seem to be underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed," says Dr. Meir Kryger, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at St. Boniface General Hospital in Winnipeg, Canada, who coauthored the study. "Women with apnea were much more likely than men with apnea to be treated for depression--a condition they may not have--and were more likely to have insomnia. Thus it appears that when a doctor is confronted by an overweight, sleepy woman, the doctor is more likely to suspect depression in a woman than a man, and miss the correct diagnosis."

Tip: If you're experiencing extreme daytime sleepiness, be sure to tell your doctor. Men and women who snore or are overweight are also more at risk of having sleep apnea.

Testing Snorers for Sleep Disorders

A high-tech overnight test might be the only reliable way for doctors to determine if snoring is a symptom of a more dangerous disorder, sleep apnea, according to a study published in the February issue of Archives of Otolaryngology. Researchers at Lugwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, did a routine exam of 101 patients who complained of snoring, and then put them through a two-night sleep test called polysomnography. They found that standard exams--which included a nose and throat exam, a test looking for obstructions in the throat, and an evaluation of the patient's medical history--weren't adequate to determine which snorers suffered from obstructive sleep apnea.

Tip: Patients seeking treatment for snoring and sleepiness may want to undergo more thorough sleep tests to determine if they have sleep apnea. Consult your doctor.