Sleep apnea is a potentially serious disorder: Doctors

MUMBAI: Music director Bappi Lahiri’s death has brought an ignored medical condition sleep apnea to the forefront. Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder that is characterised by repeated stopping of breathing for few seconds and restarting when a person is asleep.

It is more than twice as common among males and, more often than not, accompanied with comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.

In a statement on Wednesday, Dr Deepak Namjoshi of Criticare Asia Hospitals said, “Bappi Lahiri was suffering from OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) and recurrent chest infection.” He was hospitalised in Criticare Asia Hospital, Juhu, for 29 days with this.

“I was treating him personally. He recovered well and was discharged on February 15. After a day at home, his health deteriorated and he was brought back to hospital in a critical state and succumbed around 11.45pm,” said Dr Namjoshi.

Dr Shashank Joshi, senior endocronologist with Lilavati Hospital, Bandra, said, “India is a sleep-deprived country. The duration of sleep is as important as the quality of sleep. In most patients with sleep apnea, the condition is linked with metabolic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.”'

Pulmonologist Dr Salil Bendre, attached to Nanavati Hospital, Juhu, said 5-15% of the adult population has some type of sleep apnea.'

It is more common among urban population than the rural population as it is a lifestyle component. “There is no age boundary, with many children who are obese suffering from sleep apnea,” added Dr Bendre.

The problem with sleep apnea is that the sufferer does not realise that he isn’t breathing for few seconds in their sleep. “But this sleep deprivation affects the functioning of all organs and could have terrible results for those with heart disease, hypertension or sugar imbalance,” said the doctor.