Men Who Habitually Consume Alcohol Are More Likely To Have Sleep-related Breathing Disorder

Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Also Included In: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs;  Men's health;  Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 18 Apr 2007 - 12:00 PDT

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Increased usual alcohol consumption among men is associated with an increased risk of a mild or worse sleep-related breathing disorder (SRBD), according to a study published in the April 15th issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM).

The study, authored by Paul E. Peppard, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, focused on 775 men and 645 women, who were evaluated for alcohol consumption and a sleep-related breathing disorder. It was discovered that, relative to men who consumed less alcohol, for each increment of one drink per day, men who consumed more alcohol had 25 percent greater odds of a mild or worse SRBD.

Among women, minimal to moderate alcohol consumption was not significantly associated with an increased risk of an SRBD. According to Peppard, possible explanations for this include the limited range of alcohol consumption reported by women in the study sample, reducing the ability to detect clinically important moderate associations. Alternatively, added Peppard, women may be more resistant than men to threats to nocturnal respiratory stability. Such protection may be due to hormonally-mediated increased ventilatory drive, anatomical differences or other characteristics that may provide general protection for women from events of an SRBD, noted Peppard, adding that women, for example, appear to require relatively greater increases in body mass to demonstrate weight-related increments in an SRBD compared to men.

"Experimental evidence is fairly consistent in demonstrating acute effects of alcohol exposure on initiating or exacerbating an SRBD, perhaps by reducing upper airway patency via reduced dilatory muscle tone, or by blunted ventilatory response to hypoxia," said Peppard. "Based on the previous experimental evidence, men and women with an SRBD, or those particularly susceptible to an SRBD, should be advised to avoid alcohol near bedtime."

"Night Owls" Report More Insomnia-Related Symptoms

Those persons who are labeled a "night owl" report more pathological symptoms related to insomnia, despite many having the opportunity to compensate for their nocturnal sleeplessness by extending their time in bed and being able to gain more total sleep time, according to another study published in the April 15th issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM).

Jason C. Ong, PhD, and colleagues at Stanford University, conducted this study on 312 patients, who were categorized as morning, intermediate and evening chronotypes based upon scores on the Morningness-Eveningness Composite Scale. Group comparisons were made on self-report measures of nocturnal sleep, sleep period variability and waking correlates and consequences of insomnia.

Compared to the morning and intermediate types, people with insomnia who prefer evening activities (i.e., "night owls") reported the most sleep/wake irregularities and waking distress, even after adjusting for severity of sleep disturbance.

"Our findings indicate that further research should investigate the relationship between circadian rhythms and insomnia, especially with the severity of the 'night owl' group," said Ong. "These factors may serve to perpetuate the insomnia disorder, and might be particularly important to consider when treating this subgroup of insomniacs."

Insomnia, a classification of sleep disorders defined by difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, waking up too early, or poor quality sleep, is the most common sleep complaint at any age. About 30 percent of adults have symptoms of insomnia.

The amount of sleep a person gets affects his or her physical health, emotional well-being, mental abilities, productivity and performance. Recent studies associate lack of sleep with serious health problems such as an increased risk of depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Experts recommend that adults get between seven and eight hours of sleep each night to maintain good health and optimum performance.

Those who think they might have insomnia, or another sleep disorder, are urged to discuss their problem with their primary care physician, who will issue a referral to a sleep specialist.

JCSM is the official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). It contains published papers related to the clinical practice of sleep medicine, including original manuscripts such as clinical trials, clinical reviews, clinical commentary and debate, medical economic/practice perspectives, case series and novel/interesting case reports.

SleepEducation.com, a Web site maintained by the AASM, provides information about the various sleep disorders that exist, the forms of treatment available, recent news on the topic of sleep, sleep studies that have been conducted and a listing of sleep facilities.

http://www.aasmnet.org

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