Study Shows Weight Loss and Lifestyle Program Reduces Severity of Sleep Apnea
A study by Almudena Carneiro-Barrera, Ph.D. and colleagues from the University of Granada in Spain, randomly assigned 89 men with moderate-to-severe OSA and body mass index ≥25 kg/m² to an eight-week interdisciplinary weight loss and lifestyle intervention.
The 8-week interdisciplinary weight reduction and lifestyle intervention significantly improved OSA severity and other outcomes in this randomized clinical trial including 89 Spanish men with moderate to severe OSA who were overweight or obese and undergoing CPAP therapy.
At 8 weeks, 45 percent of the intervention group’s participants no longer required CPAP therapy; at 6 months, 62 percent of the intervention group’s participants no longer required CPAP therapy.
The researchers found that the intervention group had a greater decrease in the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI; 51 percent reduction; −21.2 events/hour) than the control group.
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