Ruminations

Blog dedicated primarily to randomly selected news items; comments reflecting personal perceptions

Saturday, August 07, 2021

More Validation of Exercise Guarding Against Ill Health

"In our study, higher levels of physical activity and fewer hours of TV watching and sitting either at work or away from home were associated with lower OSA [obstructive sleep apnea] incidence after accounting for potential cofounders."
"Our results suggest that promoting an active lifestyle may have substantial benefits for both prevention and treatment of OSA."
"We found that physical activity and sedentary behaviour are independently associated with OSA risk. That is, for people who spend long hours sitting every day, increasing physical activity in their leisure time can equally lower OSA risk."
"Those who can lower sedentary time and increase physical activity would have the lowest risk."
Tianyi Huang, associate epidemiologist, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University
Man sleeping in bed wearing CPAP mask ,sleep apnea therapy
A wide-scale study published in the European Respiratory Journal which studied some 130,000 men and women in the United States over an extended period of ten to 18 years, highlighting the potential health hazards of a sedentary life, concluded that moving about more and being less sedentary in one's habitual behaviour to be associated with a diminished likelihood of contracting obstructive sleep apnea.

An earlier study published in 2014 reached an estimate of 5.4 million Canadians having been either diagnosed with the condition of sleep apnea or being at high risk of the disorder, as the most common type of sleep apnea occurring in any population, most commonly caused when the upper airways are blocked, consequent of the soft tissue at the back of the throat collapsing and obstructing  the flow of oxygen to the lungs.

The upper airways passage can on occasion become compromised in people with larger-than-normal tongues, those with 'relaxed' throat muscles, or narrow airways. Generally obstructed airways result in the person affected snowing loudly, followed by choking or gasping for breath during sleep. Symptoms of OSA occurrences are manifested on the following day; when a morning headache persists, fatigue, irritability of mood changes, poor concentration, memory loss, or a lowered sex drive.

In the involvement of serious cases of OSA, the risk of heart issues can increase, including heart failure. Statistical modelling was used by the researchers to compare physical activity and sedentary hours and how they impact OSA diagnoses. Moderate and vigorous physical activity were seperately examined and both found to be tied to a lower risk of acquiring OSA; no difference of note discerned between the intensity of activity.

Women were seen to have the strongest correlation, as well as adults over the age of 65, and overweight individuals. The large sample size of the study and succeeding analysis of various levels of activity gave credibility to the findings the researcher felt, though the self-reported sedentary and physical activity narrative might conceivably not have reflected the most ideal method of data collection.

A step up from reliance on self-reporting would be the use of home sleep apnea tests along with non-invasive monitoring methods in confirmation of the findings. As well, the study focused on recreational physical activity. Sedentary behaviour characterized as being seated while viewing television or sitting outside the work situation. Irrespective of which the associations were sufficiently robust for researchers to encourage doctors to emphasize to their patients the importance of physical activity as an anti-OSA lifestyle tool.
 
The new study by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital examined the relationship between active lifestyles and the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).(Unsplash)
The new study by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital examined the relationship between active lifestyles and the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).   (Unsplash)

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