| As the youngest of 76 million boomers are now | | | | person's effectiveness in the workplace and imposes |
| move through their 40s, men especially over 40 are | | | | large burdens on the healthcare system. |
| more likely to have sleep disorders than women. | | | | While hypothyroidism is more prevalent in female |
| About 37 percent of American adults ages 30-69 | | | | baby boomers, male boomers with constant fatigue |
| have at least mild OSA. In a sleep apnea cycle, | | | | are more likely to be suspects of sleep apnea - |
| breathing stops, blood oxygen levels drop, and the | | | | although 80 to 90 percent of those who are go |
| person wakes briefly gasping for breath. This | | | | undiagnosed. As many as three million middle-aged |
| continues hundreds of times throughout the night. | | | | men don't know they have this chronic upper airway |
| Apnea is classified as a complete cessation of | | | | obstruction during sleep, usually associated with loud |
| breathing. Each episode of sleep apnea lasts a | | | | snoring. Many people long to die peacefully in their |
| minimum of 10 seconds | | | | sleep, their heart stopping while they dream and |
| What causes this high prevalence of sleep disordered | | | | snore. But reality is different: Heart attack deaths |
| breathing in baby boomers? It's not just because | | | | actually hit their nadir at night, and peak between |
| they are 'boomers'; rather, it is due to the continued | | | | sunrise and noon. The exception is people who suffer |
| changes of growing older. Changes in airway | | | | from sleep apnea. New research shows that they are |
| anatomy occur with age. The soft palate gets longer, | | | | far more likely to die in their sleep. |
| the pharyngeal fat pads increase in size, and the | | | | The new research, published in today's edition of the |
| shape of bony structures around the pharyngeal | | | | New England Journal of Medicine, involved 112 |
| airway change. All of these contribute to the | | | | Minnesota residents, diagnosed with sleep apnea, who |
| increased prevalence of sleep apnea in baby | | | | died suddenly of heart-related causes. Mayo Clinic in |
| boomers. | | | | Rochester, Minn |
| Being overweight increases sleep disordered breathing | | | | Researchers found that more than half the sleep |
| Football legend Reggie White, a defensive end for | | | | apnea sufferers died between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. In |
| the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, is | | | | the general population, this was the time people were |
| regarded as one of the NFL's greatest players. He | | | | least likely to die of cardiac-related problems. The |
| died from complications related to sleep apnea and | | | | literature suggests up to 80 per cent of people with |
| sarcoidosis at age 43. | | | | sleep apnea don't have a clue what's going on, |
| Sleep apnea has an insidious and damaging impact on | | | | Research shows that a neck circumference greater |
| a person's health. It makes patients feel chronically | | | | than 16 inches in a woman and 17 inches in a man |
| tired, erodes their quality of life and impairs their | | | | correlates with an increased risk for the disorder, said |
| ability to perform safety-critical tasks, such as driving | | | | Dr. Robert Gunnink, medical director of REM Medical |
| a car. It also heightens the risk of high blood | | | | and a board-certified sleep medicine and neurology |
| pressure, heart attacks and strokes. Untreated sleep | | | | specialist. |
| apnea causes accidents and illness, undermines a | | | | |