Effects of Sleep Apnea on Adults

Effects of Sleep Apnea on Adults
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Abstract
Sleep apnea is a common disease characterized by apnea, hypopnea of the upper airway, with a decrease in the oxygen concentration when one sleeps. The disease can affect all age groups leading to cognitive problems in children, adolescents, and adults. This condition has been associated with a high prevalence, and its diagnosis has proved problematic since its signs and symptoms often masquerade as other diseases. As much as the disease has also gained popularity and increased attention from researchers, little is known about the effects of the disease on cognitive functioning and life quality in adults. Sleep apnea negatively impacts an individual’s psychological and physical functioning, including life quality. Impaired cognitive functioning constitutes one of the primary ramifications of sleep apnea. It was also established that sleep apnea culminates in executive attention, memory, and functions. The hypothesis I adopt in this research is that patients diagnosed with sleep apnea are likely to record an overall low quality of life and cognitive functioning compared to the healthy control cluster. I will also adopt a cross-sectional study design, with a sample size of 130, with 65 acting as a control group. In data analysis, I will use SPSS 17 to gain an understanding of descriptive and inferential statistics. The study is expected to establish that sleep apnea undermines the patient’s cognitive functioning and quality of life.
Introduction
Humans spend nearly a third of their lifespans either sleeping or trying to get sleep (Garbarino et al., 2021). However, some abnormalities are induced during sleep, often referred to as sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), with sleep apnea being the most common. Marin-Oto et al. (2019) state that a temporary and recurring halt of breathing caused by repetitive upper airway closure during sleep is a common feature of sleep apnea. The main characteristics of the condition include apneic episodes, which is the stopping of airflow for nearly 10 seconds during sleep, and hypopnea, which is the reduction in the respiratory airflow, combined with a blood oxygen saturation decrease. There are three types of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central sleep apnea (CSA), and complex sleep apnea. OSA is the most prevalent, and it happens when the throat muscles close the airway despite breathing attempts. CSA, on the hand, occurs when the brain does not send the appropriate signals to the muscles to control breathing. Lastly, complex sleep apnea happens as a combination of OSA and CSA. According to Benjafield et al. (2019), sleep apnea has a prevalence of 50% in some countries, while overall, over 1 million people are affected. Among the affected population, males are most likely to get the condition compared to women. However, it is important to note that even children are susceptible to the disease. Sleep apnea is often associated with obesity, smoking, genetics, and gender. Despite the growing number of people with the condition and increased research, sleep apnea still records a high number of diagnoses even in developed countries because its signs a...