According to a study published in the journal European Respiratory Journalsleep apnea could be the cause of generalized and accelerated aging of the body, reducing the life expectancy of untreated people.
High blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke… The consequences of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) – more commonly known as Sleep Apnea – can materialize in very different ways in people who suffer from it.
According to a study published in January 2022 in the journal European Respiratory Journala lack of treatment for this sleep disorder, which affects approximately 4% of the French population, could even quite simply accelerate the process of biological aging through a phenomenon known asepigenetic age acceleration.
Epigenetic acceleration of age, what is it?
Concretely, the epigenetic age of an individual is calculated on the basis of a algorithm for measuring 71 DNA methylation markers from a blood sample. However, when the result of this test indicates that the biological age of an individual is greater than its chronological age (the actual age of an individual), we speak of acceleration of epigenetic age.
This phenomenon is not the prerogative of sleep apnea, on the contrary it can be due to multiple environmental factors such as pollution, poor diet or smoking. It is associated with the onset of chronic diseases and a general decline in life expectancy.
Sleep apnea, a cause of accelerated aging?
As part of their research, the scientists behind this work studied the impact of obstructive sleep apnea on the systemic acceleration of aging compared to individuals who do not suffer from it. To do this, they examined for one year 16 non-smokers who had been diagnosed with sleep apnea, which they compared to a panel of 8 control individuals without sleep apnea.
After performing the blood test mentioned above, the group of 16 patients received continuous treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), only effective treatment known to date against this disorderfor 1 year, before being tested again.
Study results demonstrated that lower oxygen levels and sleep disturbances induced by obstructive sleep apnea increased the biological acceleration of age compared to the control group.
The group of individuals with sleep apnea thus showed an epigenetic deceleration in age after one year of treatment for their disorder, while there was no change in age acceleration trends. within the control group.
The researchers concluded that effective implementation of continuous positive airway pressure therapy can at least partially reverse the biological acceleration of aging, when used for at least 4 hours per night.