"Sleep apnea, also spelled sleep apnoea, is a sleep disorder in which pauses in breathing or periods of shallow breathing during sleep occur more often than normal."
A common disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, leading to fragmented sleep and daytime fatigue.
"Each pause can last for a few seconds to a few minutes."
"In the most common form, this follows loud snoring. A choking or snorting sound may occur as breathing resumes. Because the disorder disrupts normal sleep, those affected may experience sleepiness or feel tired during the day."
"Sleep apnea may be either obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), in which breathing is interrupted by a blockage of air flow, central sleep apnea (CSA), in which regular unconscious breath simply stops, or a combination of the two."
"Other risk factors include being overweight, a family history of the condition, allergies, and enlarged tonsils."
"Sleep apnea is often diagnosed with an overnight sleep study."
"For a diagnosis of sleep apnea, more than five episodes per hour must occur."
"If the pause in breathing is long enough, the percentage of oxygen in the circulation can drop to a lower than normal level (hypoxaemia) and the concentration of carbon dioxide can build to a higher than normal level (hypercapnia)."
"A systemic disorder, sleep apnea is associated with a wide array of effects, including increased risk of car accidents, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, atrial fibrillation, insulin resistance, higher incidence of cancer, and neurodegeneration."
"Treatment may include lifestyle changes, mouthpieces, breathing devices, and surgery."
"Effective lifestyle changes may include avoiding alcohol, losing weight, stopping smoking, and sleeping on one's side."
"Breathing devices include the use of a CPAP machine. With proper use, CPAP improves outcomes. Evidence suggests that CPAP may improve sensitivity to insulin, blood pressure, and sleepiness."
"Long-term compliance, however, is an issue with more than half of people not appropriately using the device."
"Without treatment, sleep apnea may increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, obesity, and motor vehicle collisions."
"Alzheimer's disease and severe obstructive sleep apnea are connected because there is an increase in the protein beta-amyloid as well as white-matter damage."
"Having sleep apnea in mid-life brings a higher likelihood of developing Alzheimer's in older age."
"This is demonstrated by cases of sleep apnea even being misdiagnosed as dementia."
"With the use of treatment through CPAP, there is a reversible risk factor in terms of the amyloid proteins. This usually restores brain structure and diminishes cognitive impairment."
"A large analysis in 2019 of the estimated prevalence of OSA found that OSA affects 936 million—1 billion people between the ages of 30–69 globally, or roughly every 1 in 10 people, and up to 30% of the elderly."
"Sleep apnea is somewhat more common in men than women, roughly a 2:1 ratio of men to women, and in general, more people are likely to have it with older age and obesity."