Osteoporosis: Snorers are more likely to have brittle bones

All content is checked by medical journalists.

MunichNocturnal snoring not only reduce the quality of sleep. If breathing pauses during sleep (sleep apnea), the stability of the bones can also suffer.

Kai-Jen Tien from the Chi Mei Medical Center in Taiwan, the researchers and his colleagues, analyzed whether the nocturnal breathing pauses have an impact on bone health. To do this, they compared the data from 1377 patients with sleep apnea with the values ​​from 20,656 people who did not have this sleep disorder. Over a period of six years it was followed up whether and in whom bone loss occurred.

And indeed: patients with the sleep disorder suffered almost three times as often as porous bones than the comparison subjects. The connection was particularly clear in women and the elderly. "Repeated sleep disorders caused by obstructive sleep apnea damage the body - including the skeleton," Tien concludes. It seems that the regular lack of oxygen weakens the bones and increases the chance of developing osteoporosis. It is therefore important to include this fact when preventing bone loss.

Lack of oxygen supply

With sleep apnea, the muscles of the soft palate slacken during sleep - the tongue falls back towards the throat. This partially or even completely closes the airways. The snoring person gets too little or no air - this can take up to two minutes. This leads to an insufficient supply of oxygen to the tissue. The body notices this and starts a wake-up call - the person concerned wakes up briefly. For many, sleep quality suffers as a result - and performance the next day - noticeably. But the organism is also damaged. We know that sleep apnea increases the risk of heart attacks or other cardiovascular diseases.

Snoring is an important indicator

An important indication of the pauses in breathing at night can be snoring - especially if the sleeper "saws" very loudly and irregularly. However, not everyone who unintentionally pauses for breath at night goes to the doctor - especially since most of them do not notice the problem themselves. That is why there are no concrete figures as to how many people really suffer from sleep apnea. However, experts estimate that the disorder affects around two to four percent of adults between the ages of 30 and 60. Men suffer from pauses in breathing more often than women, especially when they have a few pounds too much on their ribs.

So if you find out from your bedfellows that you snore and feel limp and exhausted during the day, you should consult a doctor. If necessary, he or she can refer him to a sleep laboratory for clarification. (lh)

Source: Yu-Li Chen et al. Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Risk of Osteoporosis: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2014; jc.2014-1718 DOI: 10.1210 / jc.2014-1718

Tags:  toadstool poison plants sleep drugs