Difficulty sleeping not only affects your health, it could also kill you, a study says. Moderate to severe sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of death from any cause in middle-aged adults, especially men, according researchers from the Sleep Heart Health Study. Sleep apnea, a common disorder in which the upper airway is intermittently narrowed during sleep, causes breathing to be difficult or completely blocked. It affects more than 12 million adults in the United States. Most cases go undiagnosed.

 

The study, appearing in PLoS Medicine, shows that participants with severe sleep apnea had a 46 percent increased risk of death compared to those who did not have the breathing condition. The mortality risk was most apparent in men, who were more likely to die from any cause as well as from heart disease if they had severe sleep apnea. In particular, men between the ages of 40 and 70 with severe sleep apnea were twice as likely to die during the study compared to their peers who did not have the condition.

 

The researchers studied more than 6,000 men and women aged 40 years and older who had no sleep apnea or had mild, moderate, or severe sleep apnea. After an average of eight years, participants who had severe sleep apnea were 1.5 times more likely to die from any cause, regardless of age, gender, race, weight, whether they were a current or former smoker, or had other medical conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes, the study says.

 

The results confirm findings from smaller, community-based studies that have suggested increased frequency of death among adults with sleep apnea, the researchers say.

 

There are treatments available to restore regular breathing during sleep and to reduce the severity of symptoms such as loud snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness. The treatments include lifestyle changes, mouthpieces, surgery, and breathing devices, such as continuous positive airway pressure.