By David Volpi, M.D., P.C., F.A.C.S. Women and older Americans, take note. There’s new research showing that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may raise the risk of osteoporosis, particularly in women or older individuals.
OSA is the most common form of sleep apnea and occurs when a person’s airway becomes blocked, causing repeated, brief interruptions in breathing during sleep. If it goes untreated, OSA can cause myriad health problems, including stroke, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and now we learn, osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a condition that causes bones to gradually thin and weaken, leaving them susceptible to fractures. About 2 million fractures occur each year due to osteoporosis, and of the estimated 8.9 million Americans affected by osteoporosis, at least 80% are women, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation.
The results of the OSA-osteoporosis study were published April 15 in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). For the study, the researchers looked at the medical records of 1,377 people in Taiwan diagnosed with OSA between 2000 and 2008. They then compared those records with around 20,000 people of similar age and gender who did not have OSA.
Over the six years of research, the researchers noticed that people with OSA were 2.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with osteoporosis, and the risk was highest among women and older people with OSA.
One of the study’s main authors is Kai-Jen Tien, MD, of Chi Mei Medical Center in Tainan, Taiwan. Tien commented, “Ongoing sleep disruptions caused by obstructive sleep apnea can harm many of the body’s systems, including the skeletal system. When sleep apnea periodically deprives the body of oxygen, it can weaken bones and raise the risk of osteoporosis.
While the study only indicated a link between OSA and osteoporosis, it did not prove if one condition causes the other. That said, I applaud the research team’s efforts in bringing to light the fact that untreated OSA has far-reaching effects in the body, compromising even the skeletal system. I echo Tien’s advice that, “As more and more people are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea worldwide, both patients and health care providers need to be aware of the heightened risk of developing other conditions. We need to pay more attention to the relationship between sleep apnea and bone health so we can identify strategies to prevent osteoporosis.”
Read the full study, “Osteoporosis Risk Heightened Among Sleep Apnea Patients.”
