Study links sleep apnea, obesity
By HME News Staff
Updated Mon May 13, 2013
MADISON, Wis. - A new study suggests that the near 55% increase in sleep apnea cases over the past two decades may be linked to a higher incidence of obesity. The study, published by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, examined more than 600 adults between the ages of 30 and 70 who were tested for sleep apnea between 1988 and 1994, with some continuing to take part, along with hundreds of new participants, from 2007 and 2010. Researchers estimate that the number of cases of sleep apnea rose from 14% from 1994-1999, to 55% from 2007-2010. Study author Paul Peppard believes that between 80% to 90% of the increase is attributable to the obesity epidemic.
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