Obstructive Sleep Apnea Risk not Increased by Vitamin D Deficiency

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Obstructive sleep apnea is defined by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute as a common sleep disorder in which a person experiences one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while sleeping. These breathing pauses may last from a few seconds to minutes and may occur 30 times or more in 60 minutes. It is a chronic condition that disrupts sleep and makes a person suffering from it have poor sleep quality.

A new study coming from researchers at the University of Minnesota have found that there is no evidence that the risk for obstructive sleep apnea is increased in severity or prevalence by vitamin D deficiency, Eurekalert reports.

According to Bel Marra Health, the study analyzed data from 2,827 healthy men with an average age of 76 years. 92.2% of men in the study were Caucasian. Researchers also found that there is no evidence supporting the theory that vitamin D deficiency leads to an increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea in non-obese study participants.

"The link between obesity and vitamin D deficiency can be explained a number ways, one of which is that obese individuals are less likely to be physically active, thereby limiting their sun exposure," senior investigator Ken Kunisaki, MD, MS, Medical Director of the Sleep Apnea Program at the Minneapolis VA and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, explained.

"Although our study was not designed to figure out why obese people have lower vitamin D levels, our results ultimately suggest that low vitamin D levels do not cause or worsen OSA," Dr. Kunasaki commented. "Therefore, taking additional vitamin D supplements is not likely to prevent or improve OSA."

According to Dr. Chritopher Lettieri, who spoke to MedScape about obstructive sleep apnea, the condition is largely undiagnosed in the United States because "there continues to be diagnostic profiling where OSA is only considered in obese, middle-aged men who habitually snore" and "there is a narrowed focus on sleep disorders during medical school and residency, which has led to a limited understanding of these conditions among many primary care clinicians."

Dr. Lettieri explained that aside from somnolence, increased weight, age, snoring, and witnessed apneas, other prevalent features of obstructive sleep apnea are night sweats, nocturnal reflux, nocturia, progressive weight gain, depression, diminished libido or erectile dysfunction, poor memory or attention, irritability or moodiness, fatigue, and underlying cardiovascular disease, particularly hypertension.

For people who are experiencing a combination of these factors, it is best to consult a doctor to find out and address if one as obstructive sleep apnea.