B4230 - Early detection causes and consequences of sleep apnea - 30/01/2023

B number: 
B4230
Principal applicant name: 
Sarah J Lewis | Population Health Sciences, IEU (United Kingdom)
Co-applicants: 
Dr Peter Claes, Dr Sarah Baumeister, Dr Ulrich Bartsch, Kate Northstone, Professor Nic Timpson, Professor Stephen Richmond
Title of project: 
Early detection, causes and consequences of sleep apnea
Proposal summary: 

Sleep apnea is a condition characterised by interrupted breathing during sleep. People with sleep apnea have multiple extended pauses in breath when they sleep. The symptoms of sleep apnoea include loud snoring, gasping during sleep, unrefreshing sleep, and excessive daytime sleepiness. Sleep apnea is a common condition and occurs in around 25% among 30-69 year olds and increases with age. Worldwide it is estimated that between 711 million and 961 million adults are affected by the condition. Although common sleep apnea is largely undiagnosed, which is a problem because untreated sleep apnea may result in other health conditions, including high blood pressure, increased risk of stroke or coronary heart disease, increased risk of a serious accident caused by tiredness and depression or other mental health problems. The economic and societal burden of obstructive sleep apnoea is substantial, accounting for billions of pounds worldwide per year. A health economics report conducted for the British Lung Foundation estimated that investing in more awareness, diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea could save the NHS £28 million per year and prevent up to 40,000 road traffic accidents.
Diagnosis of sleep apnea is largely based on identifying those at high risk followed by home monitoring using portable devices. There is uncertainty about the accuracy of current diagnostic tools and there is the potential to improve on identifying those at high risk by incorporating features of the brain and face structure into risk prediction models.
Several potential risk factors for sleep apnea have been identified, many of which could either be avoided or treated to improve symptoms if found to be causal. These include obesity, alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, use of sedatives, hormonal anomalies, nasal congestion, sleeping lying on the back and genetics. In addition, it is currently unclear whether treatment for sleep apnea improves related health outcomes. This will depend on whether sleep apnea causes these outcomes or whether pre-existing health outcomes lead to sleep apnea.
We plan to make use of a wealth of imaging, genetic and self-reported questionnaire data already collected in UKBiobank, ALSPAC and other large cohort studies and to collect new data in ALSPAC to determine which factors can be used to improve risk prediction models for sleep apnea, to identify modifiable risk factors for sleep apnea and to determine which health outcomes arise as a result of untreated sleep apnea.

Impact of research: 
Findings from this study will be used to prevent and treat sleep apnea to reduce the prevalence and associated co-morbidities.
Date proposal received: 
Wednesday, 21 December, 2022
Date proposal approved: 
Wednesday, 4 January, 2023
Keywords: 
Epidemiology, Sleep apnea, Medical imaging, Face - face shape, Genetic epidemiology, Growth, Mendelian randomisation, Sleep