Rising temperatures are associated with a greater chance of developing obstructive sleep apnea, while at the same time, according to the most likely climate change scenarios, the social burden of this disease is expected to double in most countries over the next 75 years.Sleep apnea, which disrupts breathing during sleep, affects nearly a billion people worldwide and, if left untreated, increases the risk of dementia and Parkinson’s, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, anxiety and depression, traffic accidents and overall mortality, as previous research has shown.The study analyzed sleep data from more than 116,000 people worldwide, collected by a sensor under the mattress, to assess the severity of obstructive sleep apnea. For each participant, the sensor recorded data for about 500 nights.
The researchers then compared this sleep data with detailed 24-hour temperature information derived from climate models. They also performed health economic modeling using disability adjusted life years, an indicator used by the World Health Organization that captures the combined impact of disease, injury, and premature mortality. The aim was to quantify the welfare and societal burden due to increased prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea from rising temperatures under various projected climate scenarios.The study found that higher temperatures were associated with a 45% increased likelihood that a sleeper would experience obstructive sleep apnea on a given night.
The findings varied by region, with residents of European countries showing higher rates of sleep apnea compared to those living in Australia and the US, which the researchers attribute to the different degree of use of air conditioning.It also found that the increase in the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea in 2023 due to global warming is associated with a loss of about 800,000 years of healthy life in the 29 countries studied. This figure is similar to other medical conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease or chronic kidney disease.Accordingly, the estimated total economic cost associated with the disease was approximately US$98 billion, including US$68 billion from loss of well-being and US$30 billion from loss of workplace productivity (absence from work or reduced productivity at work).
The publication’s senior researcher, Professor Danny Eckert, clarifies that the study was oriented towards countries and individuals with a high socioeconomic level, likely with access to more favorable sleeping environments and air conditioning, and this “may have influenced our estimates and led to an underestimation of the true health and economic costs.”Lead author and sleep expert Bastien Lesa, from Flinders University’s FHMRI Sleep Health Institute, says this is the first study of its kind to describe how global warming is expected to affect breathing during sleep, as well as the world’s health, well-being and economy.
As he adds, “we were surprised by the magnitude of the correlation between ambient temperature and the severity of obstructive sleep apnea.”Researchers warn that sleep apnea will become more common and more severe due to global warming, leading to increased health and economic burdens around the world. Without greater action to slow global warming, it is estimated that the burden of obstructive sleep apnea could double by 2100 due to rising temperatures.
M. KouzinopoulouArticle
source: AMNA
PHOTO CREDIT: Flinders University