A SIMPLE blood test could help predict your risk of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), scientists hope. Around 1.5million adults in the UK have the condition, which causes loud snoring and can stop you breathing while you sleep.
Many sufferers wake up choking or gasping for breath, while others feel extremely tired during the day. In rare cases, it can be fatal, SleepApnea.org warns.
If left untreated, sufferers have a 30 per cent greater risk of heart disease and are 60 per cent more likely to have a stroke , studies show. The most common risk factors for developing OSA include age, obesity, smoking, alcohol and type 2 diabetes . Scientists in São Paulo, Brazil , looked at whether a blood test could also be used to predict the likelihood of someone developing it.
The "simple, low-cost" health check measures the level of homocysteine, an amino acid, in the blood. There is strong evidence that abnormally high levels of homocysteine, known as hyperhomocysteinemia, can cause alterations in blood vessel walls and increase a person's risk of heart disease, thrombosis , heart attacks and strokes. The team from the Federal University of São Paulo studied data from 854 volunteers aged 20 to 80, who, in 2007, took a polysomnography test to measure their apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI), which counts the number of times breathing slows or stops during an average hour of sleep .
"Up to five events per hour is considered normal. Between five and 15 is classed as mild apnoea, 15 to 30 is mode.
