減重對睡眠呼吸中止症有所改善

超過1千2百萬人在美國患有睡眠呼吸中止症(Sleep Apnea)，且在過重和肥胖的人身上最為常見。不僅僅是大聲打鼾，它可導致高血壓、中風、心血管疾病和不好的生活品質。多年來，醫生告訴患者減輕睡眠呼吸中止症的最佳選擇就是減肥，但目前很少研究報告證明這一點。

肥胖研究和教育中心主任Gary Foster 表示,“之前的研究因受到很多因素的限制故有很少研究報告顯示建議減10%左右的體重是否足以充分改善睡眠呼吸中止”

Foster和他的同事最近在6個其他大學完成了最大的隨機研究，針對減肥對2型糖尿病患者的睡眠呼吸中止的影響。他們發現，在重度睡眠呼吸中止症患者當中，減掉建議體重的人與沒有減重的人相比多了3倍，更容易消除睡眠呼吸中止症的發作。這結果發表於9月28日發行的Archives of Internal Medicine裡。

該研究報告的主要作者Foster 表示,“這些結果顯示醫生和患者可以預期減肥對睡眠呼吸中止症有很大的改善，減少睡眠呼吸中止的症狀也會有對整體健康和安樂帶來好處。”

這項新的研究，稱為” Sleep AHEAD”,觀察已參加正在進行的密集的長期干預對罹患2型糖尿病的超重或肥胖成年5145名的健康有所影響的16個地點調查研究”Look AHEAD trial”的罹患2型糖尿病的肥胖264名患者。被試驗者的年齡為45至75歲。

264名的被試驗者隨機分成兩組：第一組受到了特別為2型糖尿病的肥胖患者設計的團體行為的減肥計劃，部分控制飲食和每週指定的175分鐘運動療法。

第二組則在1年期間參加了三個針對透過飲食的糖尿病管理,身體活動和社會支持(?)的講習.

一年後，第一組成員平均瘦了24磅. 這組被試驗者完全緩解了睡眠呼吸暫停超過3倍以上(與3.5%相比:13.6%).而且與第二組相比只有一半嚴重的睡眠呼吸暫停的狀況.此外, 第二組的人只瘦了大約1磅並看到睡眠呼吸暫停顯著惡化, 這說明Foster和他的團隊，如果沒有治療，這種疾病可迅速地進展。

Weight Loss Linking to Less Sleep Apnea

Summary:Foster and colleagues from six other universities recently completed the largest randomized study on the effects of weight loss on sleep apnea in patients with type 2 diabetes.

29 Sep 2009 --- More than 12 million people in the U.S. suffer from sleep apnea, most common among the overweight and obese. More than just loud snoring, it can lead to high blood pressure, stroke, cardiovascular disease and a poor quality of life. For years, doctors have told patients with sleep apnea that their best bet for alleviating it would be to lose weight, but there's been very little research-based evidence to prove that.

"Existing research has been limited by a number of factors, so there are very few studies that show whether the recommended amount of weight loss – about 10 percent - is enough to sufficiently improve sleep apnea," said Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education.

Foster and colleagues from six other universities recently completed the largest randomized study on the effects of weight loss on sleep apnea in patients with type 2 diabetes. They found that among patients with severe sleep apnea, those who lost the recommended weight were three times more likely to nearly eliminate the number of sleep apnea episodes compared to those who did not lose weight. The results are published in the Sept. 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The new study, called Sleep AHEAD, looked at 264 obese patients with type 2 diabetes already enrolled in the Look AHEAD trial, an ongoing 16-site study investigating the long-term health impact of an intensive lifestyle intervention in 5,145 overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes. Participants were between 45 and 75 years old.

The 264 participants were broken into two randomized groups: the first received a group behavioral weight loss program developed especially for obese patients with type 2 diabetes, portion-controlled diets, and a prescribed exercise regimen of 175 minutes per week. The second attended three group informational sessions over a one-year period that focused on diabetes management through diet, physical activity and social support.

After one year, members of the first group lost an average of 24 pounds. More than three times as many participants in this group had complete remission of their sleep apnea (13.6 percent compared to 3.5 percent), and also had about half the instances of severe sleep apnea as the second group. Further, participants in the second group only lost about a pound, and saw significant worsening of their sleep apnea, which suggested to Foster and his team that without treatment, the disorder can progress rapidly.

"These results show that doctors as well as patients can expect a significant improvement in their sleep apnea with weight loss," said Foster, the study's lead author. "And a reduction in sleep apnea has a number of benefits for overall health and well-being."

資料來源：Nutrition Horizon

http://www.nutritionhorizon.com/news/Weight-Loss-Linking-to-Less-Sleep-Apnea.html