Sleep apnea, a condition characterized by disrupted breathing during sleep, appears to be a risk factor for more severe outcomes in patients with COVID-19, according to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The study was partly funded by NHLBI.
Researchers examined electronic health record data of 4,668 COVID-19 patients from Mass General Brigham, 443 of whom had sleep apnea, and found a significant association between sleep apnea and COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. The mortality rate for those with sleep apnea was 11.7 percent, compared with a mortality rate of 6.9 percent among those without sleep apnea.
“This study highlights the possibility that untreated sleep apnea may contribute to poor outcomes in those with COVID-19,” said Michael Twery, PhD, of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research of the NHLBI. “More studies are needed to explore how difficulty breathing during sleep may be a factor and whether recognizing sleep apnea in patients could influence COVID-19 risks, particularly in minority populations and other groups at highest risk for sleep apnea.”