Increased Risk of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Associated with Sleep Apnea

Here’s another potential health risk associated with sleep apnea; this one is for expectant mothers. Research presented at the SLEEP 2011 Conference currently being held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, shows that sleep apnea may be associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as gestational diabetes and early preterm birth.

Few studies have examined the relationship between sleep apnea in pregnancy. Principal investigator Dr. Fancesca Facco, from Northwestern University in Chicago, and her team researched 150 women who had received a sleep evaluation and had given birth between January 2000 and June 2009. About 87% the women were overweight or obese at delivery. And, 72% of the women had undergone a sleep study within three years of delivery.  The researchers then looked at the apnea-hypopnea index number, or the number of breathing pauses per hour of sleep, for the women. The analysis assessed the association between sleep apnea and three adverse pregnancy outcomes.

According to Dr. Facco,  “Our findings suggest that moderate to severe sleep-disordered breathing may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes….However, it is unclear if sleep-disordered breathing is a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes independent of obesity.”

More research is needed. Read the press release from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.