Sleep Apnea Increases Risk Of Diabetes And Hypertension In Pregnant Women

According to new study, sleep apnea is associated with a greatly increased occurrence of pregnancy induced diabetes and blood pressure.

According to the study, when a women’s weight is taken into consideration, sleep apnea is associated with a doubling of the occurrence of gestational diabetes and a four fold increase in the risk of pregnancy induced hypertension.

The upper airway narrows or collapses during sleep in obstructive sleep apnea.

A brief partial arousal disrupts sleep hundreds of times during night. The major risk factor for sleep apnea is obesity.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

The most effective treatment for sleep apnea is with the device called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). It delivers air through a mask keeping the airway open while the patient is asleep.

Researchers analyzed data from all pregnancies associated with sleep apnea, pregnancy induced high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. 452 had sleep apnea out of almost four million deliveries.

67 had sleep apnea out of the 167,227 women who had gestational diabetes. 166 had sleep apnea out of the 200, 902 pregnancies with pregnancy induced high blood pressure.

Due to the repetitive decrease in oxygen that occurs during the night in person with sleep apnea, body’s fight or flight state heightens and can raise blood pressure.

More hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine are secreted by the body and it responds by producing more glucose coupled with a decreased sensitivity to insulin, which can lead to diabetes.

Especially during the third trimester of pregnancy, when a woman’s weight is greatest, sleep apnea is worsened.

Mother’s oxygen level drops at night and it also affect the oxygen level of fetus and no one can expect the long term effects. If you are a pregnant woman with sleep apnea, it should be treated with CPAP machine during your pregnancy.

Yet, it is not known that CPAP treatment can reduce the risk of diabetes and blood pressure during pregnancy. According to the research, it is shown that treating sleep apnea in non-pregnant people will reduce the risk of diabetes and blood pressure.

Future studies are to be conducted on pregnant women whose sleep apnea is controlled to see if treatment prevents them from developing diabetes and blood pressure or makes it less severe.

If a pregnant woman is suffering with diabetes, blood pressure and is obese, she should be evaluated for the presence of sleep apnea. If sleep apnea is present, CPAP treatment should be used and her blood sugar and blood pressure should be closely monitored.