Sleep apnea and cancer
May 22, 2012
A NEW study has found that
sleep apnea is associated with an
increased risk of cancer mortality.
Set to be published in the
American Journal of Respiratory
and Critical Care Medicine, the
study looked at 22-year mortality
data on 1,522 people who were
enrolled in the Wisconsin Sleep
Cohort study.
The participants in the study
underwent overnight sleep studies
that included all-night recording of
sleep and breathing, as well as
other tests at four-year intervals.
According to the study findings,
people with severe sleep apnea
were 4.8 times more likely to die
from cancer.
“Clearly, there is a correlation,
and we are a long way from
proving that sleep apnea causes
cancer or contributes to its
growth,” said study author Dr
Javier Nieto, Chair of the
Department of Population Health
Sciences at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
“But animal studies have shown
that the intermittent hypoxia (an
inadequate supply of oxygen) that
characterises sleep apnea
promotes angiogenesis—increased
vascular growth—and tumor
growth,” he added, referring to a
a separate study from researchers
at the University of Barcelona,
which found that inadequate
levels of oxygen may increase the
growth of tumours in mice.
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