Sleep Apnea Statistics

Frequently Asked Questions

1. QUESTION:
   How many people have actually died from sleep apnea (statistics) ?
   What are the chances of a person with sleep apnea dying due to lack of oxygen?

   • ANSWER:
     Breathing disorders that occur during sleep include obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Less severe forms include snoring and upper airway resistance syndrome. The term sleep-disordered breathing is used to encompass all such disorders.
     Please see the web pages for more details on Sleep apnea.

2. QUESTION:
   what is the mortality rate for patients with severe sleep apnea?
   ___ out of ____ people die from severe sleep apnea. (or any other statistics about mortality rate)

   what is the life expectancy with proper treatment?

   • ANSWER:
     There is a lot of undiagnosed sleep apnea out there so your first question is difficult to answer. People who fall asleep at the wheel because of sleep apnea and die in a crash would be in a different statistics. People who die of heart disease because of damage from high bp caused by sleep apnea fall in a different category.

     You second question is also difficult to answer. It depends on when the person was diagnosed and what is their co morbidity's. Does treatment save lives, I would say definitely. It saved mine. I was diagnosed in my 30s and am 100 percent compliant.

3. QUESTION:
   How many people in the USA have scoliosis, hypertension, sleep apnea or a broken rod in their back?
   As to the statistics on the Scoliosis I would like to know how that would apply to botht he hereditary forms and conditional or accidental forms of Scoliosis.

   How many people currently live in the USA today?

   Ty in advance!

   • ANSWER:
     I read on the net that sleep apnea affects between 6 and 8 per cent of the male population over the age of 50. And between 2 and 4 per cent of the female population over the age of 50.

     It becomes more common in women after the menopause and it's thought that estrogen is protective for the development of sleep apnoea.

4. QUESTION:
   Sleep apnea and suicide?
   Are there any statistics on people with sleep apnea committing suicide because of depression brought on by chronic lack of sleep?

   • ANSWER:

5. QUESTION:
   STAT.suppose that 20% of random smple n=64 men experience sleep apnea. what is the standard error of sample?
   this is for statistics class

   • ANSWER:

6. QUESTION:
   Has anyone had these 3 surgeries done at the same time?
   I am getting my soft palate reduction, adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy at the same time.

   I have a couple of questions, i would rather have the general public address than the doctor. Because all the doctor can give me is statistics and 'rare' occassions.

   Is bleeding of the throat prevalent after the surgery?
   I heard i would not get my original voice back after the surgery, how true is this?
   Would i lose weight, after the surgery?
   How long would i have to go without solid food?
   Should spicy food be avoided at all costs, after the surgery?
   Would i be more prone to infections and allergies after the surgery?

   I'm having this surgery because i have OSA - Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

   • ANSWER:
     There are three types of apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed; of the
     three, obstructive is the most common. Despite the difference in the
     root cause of each type, in all three, people with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or longer.

     Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes during sleep.

     In central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe.

     Mixed apnea, as the name implies, is a combination of the two. With each
     apnea event, the brain briefly arouses people with sleep apnea in order for them to resume breathing, but consequently sleep is extremely fragmented and of poor quality.

     Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. This is the most common form of breathing-related sleep disorder, marked by episodes of blockage in the upper airway during sleep. It is found primarily in obese people. Patients with this disorder typically alternate between periods of snoring or gasping (when their airway is partly open) and periods of silence (when their airway is blocked). Very loud snoring is a clue to this disorder.

     Guess, the surgeon has decided to do a reduction of your elongated soft palate; which is one of the many causes of OSA.

     Other risk factors or more realistic predisposing factors of OSA:

     1) excessive weight gain or central obesity
     2) Age- loss of muscle mass and thus replaced with fat
     3) gender: male hormones
     4) anatomical abnormalities such as a receding chin
     5) enlarged tonsils and adenoids - common cause among children
     6) family hx
     7) use of alcohol or sedatives smoking
     9) Diseases/conditions - Hypothyroidism, Obesity, Down's syndrome, vocal cord paralysis; post-polio syndrome, amyloidosis, Marfan's syndrome, neuromuscular disorders

     Someone who has undiagnosed severe
     obstructive sleep apnea is likely to have a heart attack, a stroke, cardiac arrest during sleep, or a harmful accident.

     If you have one or more of the other predisposing factors as mentioned above, esp obesity- having this surgery is not a cure-all guarantee - that your problem will be solved.

     Normally, T&A ( Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy) is done during childhood for chronic tonsillitis. Thruout my childhood, I suffered from frequent upper respiratory infections such as common colds, and the flu; chronic tonsillitis, pharyngitis(sore throat) and laryngitis ( hoarse voice) so much so that I missed a lot of school days. I was constantly placed on antibiotics.

     I didn't have the surgery done until I was 26. Now, my quality of life is so much improved. I'm less prone to upper resp infections; such as tonsillitis with difficulty of swallowing. One of the many benefits of this T&A now is to enjoy drinking ice cold drinks and eating a cone of ice cream; without the side effects. .

     Mind you, because of my age and that being my very first surgery, the recovery phase wasn't a picnic and as pleasant as a child might go thru. I suffered a great deal of pain requiring quite a bit of painkillers. The surgeon stated that my tonsils were so enlarged that I must have suffered quite a bit growing up.

     I had the post-op blues which is one of the side effects of surgery.and anesthesia. However, there was no bleeding, or infection. Nowadays, it's a normal precautionary procedure for surgeons, to give an IV administration of a dose of antibiotic 24-hr pre-operatively.to prevent infection. You don't lose weight as you resume eating normally after a few days. Besides, you don't use this surgery to lose weight.

     Of course, spicy foods are off limits initially; as they are irritating and might induce bleeding. Hot drinks are discouraged as would cause vasodilation and thus bleeding. Ice chips were tolerated and soothing. As a matter-of fact, kids are allowed ice cream 2 hrs post-operatively if there is no vomiting from the anesthesia. After the recovery phase, there is no limit as to any type of foods including spicy foods; which I enjoy.

     There is no effect on your voice as your vocal chords are not involved. Immediately, after surgery, your voice might be a little raspy due to the soreness of your throat and your fear of straining. However, your voice would resume to being normal once the swelling and inflammation is gone. There might be a slight change with the soft palate reduction if any.

     You should not be alarmed. It is a normal and required routine of all pre-op pts to sign this operative consent -. with the stated normal risks of bleeding and infection as with ALL surgeries.

     So, I hope all of the above- answers all your questions adequately.

     Oh, by the way, I still have my allergies and allergic rhinits but not as bad. But I'm not prone to acute tonsillitis anymore and more importantly, when I get a sore throat with the colds, I can swallow without difficulty. And the episodes of upper respiratory infections are less.

7. QUESTION:
   Please help me revise ! please please please ?
   America is a country with great power, known for having the greatest achievements. One might suggest that everything is bigger in America; we have the biggest cars, houses, companies, food, and people. America has become the fattest nation in the world, with over sixty percent of American citizens being overweight. Many would think that one of the most influential and progressive countries should be the healthiest as well. The obesity epidemic has many causes, consequences, and the government’s role.

   Many factors have contributed to America’s obesity epidemic, which lead to over two-thirds of America population is considered overweight or obese. One of the greatest contributors is fast food chains, which have increased rapidly over the past forty years. Statistics have shown that one in four American’s eat at a fast food restaurant each day. The food portions are very harmful, but even more harmful when they are “supersized”, which is very common for Americans to do. A study has shown that obesity is “socially contagious” because if one person becomes obese, those closely related have a greater chance of becoming obese as well.

   Obesity has a tremendous toll on society, by raising disease rates and health care costs. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertensions, dyslipidemia, stroke, liver disease, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, and gynecological problems are just some examples of the health consequences that accompany obesity. There are over 300,000 deaths caused by obesity per year, which is now the second largest cause of preventable deaths in America. Obesity medical expenses accounted for 9.1 percent of the total U.S. medical expenditures in 1990 and reached around .5 billion. As obesity rates plateau, so does the issue of childhood obesity, which has more than tripled in the past thirty years.

   The U.S. government has attempted to tackle the obesity epidemic. Many campaigns began to address childhood obesity; even first lady Michelle Obama has initiated campaigns. There have been guidelines set for schools as a way of helping children make better choices. Besides lunch, schools have also incorporated gym into their curriculum. The more children exercise, the less likely they are of being obese. The government has also attacked fast food restaurants, making them show the nutritional information of their products. Also happy meal toys have been banned from happy meals.

   still working on the conclusion, any errors or advice would be helpful!
   thanks

   • ANSWER:

8. QUESTION:
   Removal of 4 first bicuspids?
   So. I'm 16 and 2 years ago I got all four wisdom teeth extracted in order to get braces, which I got around last October. My teeth are excessively crowded, with my canines lifted higher up in my gums, and some crowding on my bottom teeth as well. My ortho told me that he was going to put my braces on and see if they could fix the crowding without tooth extraction. Well last appointment he told me that it probably wasn't going to happen that way and that I would have to get 4 teeth removed. I didn't know what these teeth were called, he just took the brackets off of them. I got 2 of them removed 3 days ago, and I'm going to get the other 2 removed next week.

   But after some research I've come across people saying that the removal of the bicuspids cause TMJ problems and other problems like sleep apnea, so now I'm getting paranoid and I'm not sure what to do next. I have both a dentist appointment (to get the other teeth removed) and an orthodontist appointment next week. I called up my dentist's office and asked about this and they said that they were doing the extractions based on the recommendation of my ortho, and that if he felt that I was going to have such problems he probably would have not recommended it.

   Ah, I'm just paranoid now. What should I do? And are there really such high statistics of these extractions being related to TMJ?

   • ANSWER:
     After I learned how to do modern orthodontics (as opposed to archaic traditional orthodontics) and found out what bicuspid extractions could do to patients, I refused all requests by any orthodontist who wanted bicuspids removed to treat crowding. Yes, it is true that such treatment has a very high probability of causing TMJ disorders, especially in females. Your general dentist gave you a very diplomatic answer to your question, however, your general dentist and most general dentists who do not do orthodontics do not know any better and so defer to your orthodontist's recommendations. Your traditional orthodontist, on the other hand, is only doing what he/she was taught in orthodontic school and that is the excuse always used to justify that type of treatment despite the fact that it does these things:
     1) makes the nose and chin more prominent and the area around the mouth look caved in (aka a dished-in look);
     2) the upper back teeth will not line up properly with the lower back teeth;
     3) the mouth will be made smaller than it should be;
     4) the lower jaw will be forced too far back when biting;
     5) causes TMJ problems either late in ortho treatment or after braces are off.

     If your jaw starts to click and pop, you need to tell your orthodontist ASAP because that will be the start of your TMJ problems. Normal jaws do not make any noise when they function and when a jaw does, that is by definition a TMJ problem. You can google TMJ disorders to find out more about what you may be in for. It's ashame that your orthodontist did not expand your jaws to uncrowd teeth. When you develop TMJ, the fix will be to undo the extractions and reopen all the extraction spaces. This is the exact opposite of what you will be going through because the next step in your treatment will be to retract the upper front teeth to close all the excess space. This is what will force your mandible back causing anterior displacement of the articular disk. I sincerely hope that you do not develop TMJ. You may luck out...