Maybe it’s time to retire the tired stereotype of the snoring husband who keeps his wife up at night with his buzz-saw breathing. New research has found high rates of sleep apnea in women, despite the perception that it’s primarily a men’s health condition.
The study, published online in the European Respiratory Journal, also suggests women with hypertension and/or obesity are more likely to experience sleep apnea, which can significantly raise the risk of stroke, heart disease and depression.
The findings, by researchers at Uppsala and Umeå University in Sweden, are based on an analysis of 400 women who answered a questionnaire and underwent a sleep examination. The results showed obstructive sleep apnea was present in 50 percent of the women. The researchers also found 80 percent of those with hypertension and 84 percent of obese women suffered from sleep apnea. In addition, 31 percent of older women – those aged 55-70 years – suffered severe sleep apnea.
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"We were very surprised to find such a high occurrence of sleep apnea in women, as it is traditionally thought of as a male disorder,” said lead researcher Karl Franklin. “These findings suggest that clinicians should be particularly aware of the association between sleep apnea and obesity and hypertension, in order to identify patients who could also be suffering from the sleeping disorder."
People with obstructive sleep apnea experience frequent pauses in breathing during sleep. It tends to increases with age.
Suspicious signs and symptoms include: loud and heavy snoring, morning headaches, excessive daytime sleepiness, unexplained fatigue, personality changes, and memory loss.