outworlder 4 days ago

> Most sleep apnea is caused by weight issues after all.

Citation needed here. My understanding is that being overweight just narrows part of your airways and will make any existing flow restrictions worse. But given that most sleep apnea patients don't get off treatment even when they lose weight (although the severity may decrease), I'm pretty skeptical of this claim.

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  • arcticbull 4 days ago

    This is not a comprehensive response to your question but 41% of patients with BMI over 28 have sleep apnea, and that number grows to 78% by the time you get referred for bariatric surgery.

    There is in fact a mathematical relationship. [1]

    > For every 7-pounds drop in weight, expect a 7% drop in [apnea severity index].

    It's basically caused by tongue fat, pharyngeal/neck fat and visceral/fat in the upper belly. [2]

    I strongly suspect it's just a question of how much weight you lose. If you get down to 15% body fat you really won't have apnea anymore. Not for everyone, there's probably some structural issues that can also cause it, but if it's adiposity-induced, which it is for a huge number of people...

    For the rest with skeletal or nasal structure issues, surgery may be appropriate.

    [1] https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.10190

    [2] https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2020/january...

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