January 27, 2010: Insulin resistance (IR) is a condition were the cells of the body become resistant to the effects of insulin, that is, the normal response to a given amount of insulin is reduced. Sleep apnea refers to the cessation of airflow during sleep. This disorder occurs due to the functional collapse of the upper airway during sleep. Most patients with sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) are overweight and a significant proportion has short, thick neck. OSAS leads to excessive daytime sleepiness, obesity and insulin resistance. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is the marker for insulin resistance independent of obesity.

A study was conducted with 44 patients suffering from OSAS. Severity of OSAS was determined by apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) and re-examined by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) after 3 months. Patients with excessive daytime sleepiness syndrome showed higher plasma levels of glucose, insulin and were also noted to have insulin resistance. Significant reduction in cholesterol, insulin and HOMA index was reported and IGF-1 was increased in EDS patients after 3 months treatment with CPAP.

Thereby EDS is associated with insulin resistance and is useful as a clinical marker to identify patients with OSAS leading to risk of metabolic syndrome.

Sleep apnea and hypertension proof at last

Written by: Healthplus24 team
Date last updated: January 27, 2010