The Burden of Comorbidities in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

What is it about?

Micro-arousals and the repeated desaturation of oxyhemoglobin, which are typical in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), have adverse effects on the health of patients, leading to a wide range of complications such as cardiovascular (arterial hypertension, pulmonary hypertension, chronic heart failure, arrhythmias, myocardial infarction), cerebrovascular (strokes), metabolic (insulin resistance, obesity, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome), gastrointestinal (non-alcoholic liver disease), urinary (chronic renal failure), and neuropsychiatric complications as well as a wide range of malignancies. These, in turn, have multilateral effects on familial, occupational, and social life, as well as increasing the risks of road traffic accidents and accidents at the workplace. Awareness, timely screening, and the prevention of complications play important roles in diagnosing and treating comorbid conditions. This review focuses on comorbidities in OSAS and the effect of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy on their prognoses.

Featured Image

Photo by Alexander Possingham on Unsplash

Photo by Alexander Possingham on Unsplash

Why is it important?

OSAS is one of the most important diseases discovered in the last 50 years. The accumulated knowledge has helped us understand that this pathology is associated with a marked function disorder not only of the respiratory system but also of many other systems. Due to hypoxia, proinflammatory syndrome, oxidative stress, and other processes, the dysfunctions of the cardiovascular, nervous, endocrine, excretory, and other systems have been observed. The timely screening of OSAS and CPAP therapy administration contribute to reparation and, in some cases, the marked deceleration of comorbidity progression. The modern approach to OSAS requires a multidisciplinary team that is able not only to reach correct diagnoses and treatment plans, but also to make adjustments according to the present comorbidities.