Healthy Living

Sleep Apnea, Obesity, and Hypertension: What Is the Link?

Sleep and obesity can directly affect the metabolism

Sleep and obesity are both modulators of metabolic functions. Overweight and central obesity, in particular, are important risk factors for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes and OSA is also strongly associated with insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, and type 2 diabetes, regardless of obesity. Several studies have reported that episodes of hypoxia can produce a defective glucose metabolism among people who are on the weight they are supposed to, and a study that included fragmentation of sleep achieved through auditory and mechanical stimuli reported that fragmented sleep can produce alterations in the metabolism of glucose.