People with Sleep Apnea Have a High Risk of Gout (What Is the Connection?)

Contents:

Medical Video: Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a disorder that makes the sufferer breath often stop during sleep. Not only does it make you sleep less because you continue to wake up in the middle of the night, this sleep problem is also associated with various other health problems such as strokes and heart disease. A recent study also found that high-risk sleep apnea is the cause of gout. Why so?

The risk of getting gout is higher if you have sleep apnea

obstructive sleep apnea snoring

People who have sleep apnea tend to be at high risk of gout, said a study published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology. This conclusion was made by researchers after 6 years of collecting and processing data from nearly 80 thousand people, some of whom were diagnosed as having sleep apnea.

Researchers found that people with sleep apnea had a 42% higher risk of gout than those who did not have similar problems. The risk of gout is reported to increase the highest in the range of 1-2 years after officially diagnosed sleep apnea.

Why can sleep apnea cause gout?

The results of the study did not directly prove that sleep apnea causes gout. However, researchers suspect that these two conditions are related to a continuous decrease in oxygen levels in the body.

In people with sleep apnea, the airway is blocked so that oxygen levels in the blood will gradually decrease. In fact, every organ of the body needs an oxygen supply that is always stable, including during sleep, in order to work optimally.

Uric acid is produced in the kidneys. When the kidneys do not receive enough osigen intake, the kidneys will not be able to work effectively to filter the excess uric acid to be excreted in the urine. Well, excessive levels of uric acid in the body will produce painful symptoms, such as swollen and reddish joints, feeling hot and stiff.

This is the cause of gout in people who have sleep apnea

Having normal sleep apnea and BB is more susceptible to gout

Further explored, the research data above also reports that gout risk factors were higher in people who had normal sleep apnea than obese people. Why so?

The risk of gout can be higher in those who have normal weight because they generally do not get treatment through CPAP. CPAP is a respiratory therapy that is more intended for moderate to severe sleep apnea cases. Moderate and severe sleep apnea is generally more common in people who are overweight or obese compared to those who have normal body weight.

By using CPAP during sleep, you can make sure the body continues to get a stable oxygen intake despite having sleep apnea. Stable oxygen supply keeps the kidneys working while filtering excess uric acid, so keeping it in normal levels.

CPAP is not a solution to reduce uric acid in patients with sleep apnea

sleep tips using CPAP

Although it does help control uric acid levels to remain normal in the body, CPAP cannot be used as an independent treatment to treat gout in patients with sleep apnea who have already had the gout problem.

Blagojevic-Bucknall, a lecturer at Keele University, UK, said that there must be further research to ensure the effectiveness of CPAP therapy as a way to reduce gout.

Therefore, if you have sleep apnea and / or gout immediately consult a doctor to get the right treatment to avoid other complications.

People with Sleep Apnea Have a High Risk of Gout (What Is the Connection?)
Rated 4/5 based on 2180 reviews
💖 show ads