Obstructive sleep apnea—a potentially life-threatening disease involving episodes of complete or partial airway obstruction during sleep—is on the rise, afflicting 14% of Hispanic men and 6% of Hispanic women.
The National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project, a collaboration between the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Sleep Research Society, is urging people with sleep apnea symptoms to “stop the snore” and talk to a doctor, according to a news release.
“Research shows that the number of sleep apnea sufferers is rising, increasing their risk of heart disease, hypertension, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and obesity,” says Camilo Ruiz, member and spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project. “Fortunately, many of the damaging effects of sleep apnea can be stopped, and even reversed, through diagnosis and treatment by a board-certified sleep doctor.”
Doctors also have found that Hispanics in the United States with moderate to severe sleep apnea have a 44% higher chance of hypertension, a 50% higher chance of impaired glucose tolerance and a 90% higher chance of diabetes.
