Sleep apnea is a risk predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and death in diabetes patients who are receiving peritoneal dialysis.
A new study published in Kidney International found that sleep apnea is an independent predictor of increased all-cause mortality in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis independent of age, male gender and diabetic status. Risk increases with the severity of the patient’s sleep apnea.
The study, which began in 2001, studied 93 Chinese patients who were receiving peritoneal dialysis. Participants underwent at least one overnight polysomnography (sleep study) at the beginning of their dialysis treatment. After a median follow-up of 41 months, 53 patients (56.9 percent) developed one or more cardiovascular events. Thirty (32.2 percent) of the patients had died. Among the patients who had died, 17 (56.6 percent) were due to cardiovascular events.
While the study was unable to determine the cardiovascular outcome for all patients included in the study, sleep apnea is known to increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke and death in the general population.
Sleep apnea is typically treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. The most common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are snoring and daytime sleepiness.
