Sleep apnea patients have an increased risk of developing a variety of related illnesses including cancer.
According to a study, individuals with Sleep apnea have double the risk of developing cancer. Sleep apnea is a sleep - related disorder that is characterized by heavy snoring and cessation of breathing while sleeping. It is linked to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, day time fatigue, high blood pressure and now cancer.
Individuals with sleep apnea are advised treatment, as maintaining a proper level of oxygen while sleeping reduces the risk of related illnesses.
A study conducted revealed that sleep apnea patients with high levels oxygen deprivation carried the biggest risk. Middle aged and overweight individuals are prone to sleep apnea.
In individuals who undergo sleep deprivation - muscles of the airways collapse while the person is asleep, and this causes cessation of breathing. It takes approximately 10 seconds or more before brain signals can - prompt the muscles to work again.
In a recent study, Spanish researchers evaluated more than 5,600 patients from seven sleep clinics. The patients, none of whom had cancer when the study began, were under observation for seven years.
Scientists observed the time and duration of the drop in oxygen in the person’s blood to below 90%, while they were asleep.
Those who spent 14 percent of their sleep with oxygen saturation levels below 90 percent faced twice the risk of deadly cancer than those without sleep apnea.
Source-Medindia