Study links sleep-disordered breathing to age acceleration

Results provide biological evidence of the adverse effects of untreated sleep-disordered breathing

June 7, 2019

Science Daily/American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Increasing severity of sleep-disordered breathing and sleep disruption are associated with epigenetic age acceleration, according to preliminary results of a new study.

Results show that each standard deviation increase in the apnea-hypopnea index, a measure of sleep-disordered breathing severity, was associated with the equivalent of 215 days of biological age acceleration. Similarly, each standard deviation increase in the arousal index, a measure of sleep disruption, was associated with the equivalent of 321 days of age acceleration.

"People's biological age might not be the same as their chronological age," said lead author Xiaoyu Li, Sc.D., a postdoctoral research fellow in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. "Individuals whose biological age is higher than their chronological age exhibit age acceleration or fast aging. In our study, we found that more severe sleep-disordered breathing is associated with epigenetic age acceleration. Our data provide biological evidence supporting adverse physiological and health effects of untreated sleep-disordered breathing."

Sleep-disordered breathing, such as obstructive sleep apnea, is characterized by abnormalities of respiration during sleep. Episodes often result in reductions in blood oxygen saturation and are usually terminated by brief arousals from sleep. Nearly 30 million adults in the U.S. have obstructive sleep apnea. Common warning signs include snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness.

According to the authors, epigenetic age acceleration is a DNA methylation-based marker of fast biological aging, and it is associated with modifiable lifestyle factors. Although sleep-disordered breathing is associated with multiple age-related health disorders, its relationship with epigenetic aging has not been well studied.

The study involved 622 adults with a mean age of 69 years; 53.2% were women. Participants were measured for blood DNA methylation, and their sleep was evaluated at home by polysomnography. Age acceleration measures were calculated as residuals from the regression of each epigenetic age on chronological age. The association of each sleep-disordered breathing trait with age acceleration was estimated using linear regression, controlling for socio-demographics, health behaviors, body mass index, and study site.

Another surprising finding was that the associations were stronger in women than in men, suggesting that women may be particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of sleep-disordered breathing.

"While women are often considered to be at lower risk for health outcomes related to sleep-disordered breathing, our findings suggest increased biological susceptibility," said Li.

The authors suggested that future work should study whether treatment reduces epigenetic age acceleration among people who have sleep-disordered breathing.

"Since sleep-disordered breathing is not only common and treatable, but often undiagnosed and under-treated, our data highlight the potential for sleep-disordered breathing treatment to improve age-related chronic conditions and longevity," said Li. "Because epigenetic changes are reversible, epigenetic age estimators may be useful for identifying and validating anti-aging interventions."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190607193709.htm

Older women with breathing problems during sleep experience decline in ability to perform daily tasks

November 12, 2014

Science Daily/Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Older women with disordered breathing during sleep were found to be at greater risk of decline in the ability to perform daily activities, such as grocery shopping and meal preparation, according to a new study.

The findings are notable given the aging of the population -- an estimated 3.7 million Americans will turn 65 in 2015, and by 2030, 19 percent of the U.S. population will be 65 or older -- and the fact that sleep-disordered breathing is treatable. Older adults are as much as four times as likely as middle-aged individuals to have problems with breathing during sleep.

Sleep-disordered breathing involves repeated interruptions or decreases in breathing during sleep, which often leads to fragmented sleep and hypoxemia, or low blood oxygen levels.

Doctors rate the severity of sleep-disordered breathing with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), which reflects the number of breathing interruptions (apneas) and the number of significant decreases in breathing (hypopneas) per hour of sleep.

The researchers say they believe it is the low blood-oxygen levels caused by sleep-disordered breathing that cause the trouble with daily tasks, and not sleep fragmentation, which is also increased by sleep-disordered breathing.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141112134748.htm

One in ten 6- to 8-year-olds has sleep-disordered breathing

December 14, 2012

Science Daily/University of Eastern Finland

Approximately ten per cent of 6-8 year olds have sleep-disordered breathing, according to a recent Finnish study. The risk is increased among children with enlarged tonsils, crossbite and convex facial profile. Unlike in adults, excess body fat is not associated with sleep-disordered breathing in this age group.

The symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing vary from mild snoring to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. In addition to nocturnal pauses in breathing, the syndrome can be manifested as a variety of other symptoms in children, such as daytime hyperactivity, behavioural and learning difficulties as well as compromised growth.

"If a child has symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing, his or her craniofacial status and dental occlusion need to be examined. On the other hand, children with tonsillar hypertrophy, crossbite and convex facial profile should be examined to assess the quality of their sleep," concludes Ms Tiina Ikävalko, Orthodontic Specialist and Clinical Lecturer at the University of Eastern Finland.

Recognising the risk for sleep-disordered breathing at an early age allows an early intervention to prevent the progression of the disease. The diagnosis and treatment of children's sleep-disordered breathing is best carried out in cooperation involving dentists, paediatricians and otorhinolaryngologists as well as the parents.

In adults, the most important risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome are overweight and certain craniofacial morphology traits, such as a small and retruded lower jaw. Altogether 70 per cent of adults with sleep apnea are overweight. Deviations in craniofacial morphology and dental occlusion are significantly more common among sleep apnea patients who have normal weight than among those who are overweight. According to the researchers, these observations indicate that there could be two different types of pathogenesis.

The results of the present study indicate that some of those at risk for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome as adults could be identified already in childhood. Adenotonsillectomy remains the main treatment of sleep-disordered breathing symptoms in children. ® ®

Orthodontic treatment may also be useful, offering ways to control the development of the jaws and to prevent the development of craniofacial traits predisposing to sleep apnea, in addition to shaping the dental arch and occlusion. The role of obesity is likely to increase with age, and the prevention of excess weight gain is vital in the prevention of sleep apnea and other diseases associated with obesity.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121214085851.htm