Although not everyone who snores suffers from sleep apnea, loud snoring is a frequent symptom of this condition, which is an important subject for the ERS, which presented at its international congress (4- September 6), three studies showing an association between sleep apnea and the occurrence of several serious health problems, including cancer.
Beyond the inconvenience that the bulge can cause, it is sometimes a sign of a more serious health problem: sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (Sahos). Sufferers typically suffer from heavy snoring and cessation of breathing for more than ten seconds several times a night, depriving the body of oxygen, it was explained, noting that apnea, which affects 1 to 5% of adult men, is considered severe when it occurs more than 30 times per hour following sleep.
“It is already known that patients with obstructive sleep apnea have an increased risk of cancer, but it is not clear whether or not this is due to Sahos itself or to related cancer risk factors, such as as obesity, cardiometabolic diseases or lifestyle. Our results show that oxygen deprivation due to Sahos is independently associated with cancer,” says Andreas Palm, a researcher from Uppsala University (Sweden) who presented the first study.
According to this study, cancer patients seem to have a more severe form of sleep apnea, with an average of 32 breaks per hour for cancer patients compared to 30 breaks per hour for others. Scientists have noted this association for lung cancer, prostate cancer, and aggressive melanoma.
Indeed, this research points to the association, not causation, between sleep apnea and cancer. However, they emphasize the relevance of considering untreated sleep apnea as a risk factor for cancer and that physicians should be aware of the potential for cancer when treating Sahos.