Sleep Apnea Causes the Acceleration of Aging, Scientist Found the Treatment To Reverse OSA

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common but serious problem that causes individuals to stop breathing while sleeping.

It can put you at risk for serious health problems like heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. According to new studies, it may also cause you to age faster.

However, experts at the University Of Missouri School Of Medicine have shown that untreated OSA accelerates the biological aging process and that adequate therapy can delay or even reverse the tendency.

Sleep apnea and aging

(Photo : NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP via Getty Images)

The Harvard Medical School study examined patients with sleep apnea to see if they could identify accelerated aging in their cells, as per LowT Center.

The DNA in their cells was discovered to be "older" than their chronological age, according to the researchers.

The study discovered that for every extra point on the apnea-hypopnea index (a point system over how many times you stop breathing or breathe shallowly at night), there were around 215 days of quicker aging in the people's cells.

Furthermore, further sleep disturbances in OSA patients were associated with 321 extra days of accelerated aging.

A blood test that examines DNA and utilizes an algorithm to calculate a person's biological age is used in age acceleration testing.

The occurrence of a person's biological age exceeding their chronological age is known as "epigenetic age acceleration," and it has been related to increased mortality and chronic illnesses.

According to Rene Cortese, PhD, assistant professor in the Departments of Child Health and Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women's Health, age acceleration is not specific to OSA and can be induced by a range of environmental variables, such as smoking, poor food, or pollution, according to ScienceDaily.

People experiencing epigenetic age acceleration are not rare in Western society, but the experts wanted to investigate how OSA impacts systemic age acceleration in comparison to individuals who do not have this disease.

Cortese's team compared 16 adult nonsmokers with OSA to eight control patients without the disorder over a one-year period to examine the influence of OSA on epigenetic age acceleration.

Following a baseline blood test, the OSA group got one year of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy before being tested again.

According to the findings, OSA-induced sleep interruptions and decreased oxygen levels during sleep encouraged quicker biological age acceleration when compared to the control group, according to Cortese.

However, OSA patients who used CPAP demonstrated a slowdown of epigenetic age, but the control group's age acceleration trends remained the same.

Their findings imply that when effective OSA therapy is applied, biological age acceleration is at least partially reversible.

Also Read: CPAP Improves Sleep and Looks in People with Sleep Apnea

What happens to your body when you have sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea may raise your risk of oxidative stress by causing you to receive insufficient oxygen.

Oxidative stress occurs when your body has more free radicals than antioxidants.

Another typical concern for patients with OSA is sleep fragmentation. Sleep fragmentation occurs when you experience many brief pauses in your sleep.

This might make it difficult to enter the deep periods of sleep, during which your body heals and your cardiovascular system rests.

Furthermore, OSA may raise your chances of developing chronic inflammation throughout your body.

Low blood oxygen levels and an overworked cardiovascular system as a result of a lack of sleep might induce inflammation in your body.

Chronic inflammation is a frequent aging symptom. Inflammation can also harm good cells and raise your chance of developing diseases, such as heart disease and some forms of cancer.

Related article: Treating Sleep Apnea can Reverse Brain Damage