New Study Reveals: Rising Temperatures Worsen Sleep Apnea

The rise in temperatures, a direct consequence of climate change, is linked to higher chances of developing obstructive sleep apnea, according to a study by Flinders University in Australia published in ‘Nature Communications’. Sleep apnea, which disrupts breathing during sleep, affects nearly one billion people globally. If untreated, it increases the risk of dementia and Parkinson’s disease, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, anxiety, depression, traffic accidents, and overall mortality, as previous studies have shown. In this study, sleep data from over 116,000 individuals worldwide were analyzed using an under-mattress sensor to assess the severity of obstructive sleep apnea. For each participant, the sensor recorded data for approximately 500 nights. Researchers then compared this sleep data with detailed 24-hour temperature information from climate models. They also conducted health economics modeling using disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), a metric used by the World Health Organization reflecting the combined impact of illness, injury, and premature death. The goal was to quantify well-being and societal burden due to the increased prevalence of sleep apnea caused by rising temperatures under various climate scenarios. The research found that higher temperatures were associated with a 45% increased likelihood of experiencing sleep apnea on a given night. Findings varied by region, with European residents showing higher rates of sleep apnea compared to those in Australia and the U.S., attributed to differing levels of air conditioning use. Additionally, the increase in sleep apnea cases in 2023 due to global warming correlates with a loss of about 800,000 healthy life-years across the 29 studied countries. This number is comparable to other medical conditions like Parkinson’s disease or chronic kidney disease. The estimated total economic cost related to the condition was approximately $98 billion USD, including $68 billion from lost well-being and $30 billion from reduced workplace productivity. Lead author Professor Danny Eckert noted that the study focused on countries and individuals with high socioeconomic status, potentially leading to an underestimation of the true health and economic costs. Senior author and sleep specialist Bastien Lechat emphasized that this is the first study of its kind describing how global warming will affect breathing during sleep and broader health, well-being, and economies. Researchers warn that sleep apnea will become more frequent and severe due to global warming, increasing healthcare and economic burdens worldwide. Without greater political action to slow global warming, the burden of sleep apnea could double by 2100 due to rising temperatures.