Medical Minute W/ The UNLV School of Nursing | Sleep Apnea and Obesity

A closer look into the relationship of sleep apnea and obesity, and their combined health risk factors.

What is Medical Minute W/ The UNLV School of Nursing ?

A series of small snapshots of healthcare advise from the professors and practitioners at the UNLV School of Nursing.

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Here's today's Medical Minute with Dr. Jin-Yung Kim, associate professor studying sleep apnea and insomnia at the School of Nursing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

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Let me talk about the relationship between obesity and obstructive sleep apnea, OSA for short. Obesity, especially central obesity, characterized by accumulated fat deposits around the neck and abdominal area is critical to developing OSA. Because OSA is defined as complete or partial obstructions of the upper airway during sleep, including nasal and pharyngeal cavities, fat deposits in the soft tissues in the upper airway make the area narrower and increase the risk of obstruction during sleep. Also, belly fat reduces lung volume and increases the collapsibility of the upper airway by reducing the tracheal traction force which is needed to open the upper airway. Therefore, if you suspect that you have OSA and you want to treat the disease, weight reduction

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will be the first option to try. This Medical Minute is written by the School of Nursing at the will be the first option to try. This Medical Minute is written by the School of Nursing at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and produced by KUNV 91.5 FM

Transcribed with Cockatoo