Prevention and Cure of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Could be Moderate Weight Loss
Monday, February 24, 2014Even a moderate weight reduction can prevent the progression of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), and even cure it, according to a 4-year Finish follow-up study published recently in Sleep Medicine. The study focused on the effects of weight loss on OSA and demonstrated, for the first time, that a sustained weight loss of just 5 percent was enough to prevent the disease from worsening and even cure it in a long-term follow-up.

The study was conducted in Kuopio University Hospital, Finland, in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland between 2004 and 2013. The study participants were moderately obese adult patients with mild OSA. The participants underwent either a 12-month supervised lifestyle intervention programme or were given standard care consisting of general verbal and written information about diet and physical activity. The main hypothesis was that even a moderate (5 percent, i.e. -5kg) but sustained weight reduction can achieve an improvement in OSA, thus preventing the progression of the disease when the treatment is started in the early stages of OSA.
This study provides first time long-term evidence that even a modest weight reduction can result in marked improvements of OSA and metabolism in overweight patients, and these positive changes are sustained even four years after the cessation of the active intervention, and the progression of the disease is thus prevented.
Source: University of Eastern Finland
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