"please keep me updated about oximeters "
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When was sleep apnea first identified or reported?
Thomas Roger Williams posted this question to "articles" section instead of here, so reposting here:
"i want to know is this a western phenomina cause by poor diet?
and any interesting investigations as to why it is so previlent
and what can we do to prevent problems before they occur
is it cause by vitamin B deficency and the like"
"i want to know is this a western phenomina cause by poor diet?
and any interesting investigations as to why it is so previlent
and what can we do to prevent problems before they occur
is it cause by vitamin B deficency and the like"
Views: 200
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steven Y. Park, MD on
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The clinical features of obstructive sleep apnea were first described by French and German researchers in the mid 1960s, but there have been references to this condition as early as William Osler in the early 1900s. Joe the fat boy in Dickens' novel the Pickwick Papers is frequently mentioned as someone with sleep apnea (although now he's thought to have alveolar hypoventilation syndrome instead). Guilleminault coined the term obstructive sleep apnea in 1976, and Remmers described the process more fully in 1978. CPAP was presented in the early 80s by Sullivan.
Although OSA is thought to be a consequence of obesity, it actually starts much earlier. It's thought that this problem arose due to a major change in modern human's jaw structure, becoming much smaller due to a major change in our diets (from organic, off the land, to processed, mushy foods with lots of refined sugars), as well as with the introduction of bottle-feeding. Weston Price, a dentist, traveled the world in the 1930, documenting jaw changes and dental crowding in cultures that transitioned from native diets to Western diets. I discuss this topic in much more detail on my book, Sleep, Interrupted: A physician reveals the #1 reason why so many of us are sick and tired.
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Permalink Reply by Rock Conner RRT on
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Dr. Park's comment was thorough & I agree from a meta perspective, though I would add that the US OSA patient population I have observed, most notably including myself, there are an extraordinary number of subjects who are obese and beyond. That observation leads me to painfully conclude that many, and perhaps most US OSA patients have personally overeaten their way into their condition.
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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on
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I am with you Rock. My weight problem is self induced. I know that not everyones is, but mine definately is. I think that Americans have gone a little to far in looking for an excuse to being fat.
Rock Conner RRT said:Dr. Park's comment was thorough & I agree from a meta perspective, though I would add that the US OSA patient population I have observed, most notably including myself, there are an extraordinary number of subjects who are obese and beyond. That observation leads me to painfully conclude that many, and perhaps most US OSA patients have personally overeaten their way into their condition.
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Permalink Reply by 99 on
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were the people who now have OSA those who are obese were they on tablets before becoming obese
in other words did the tablets relax their muscles so much that they became obese
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I don't know the tablets to which you refer, but my obesity is directly related to little white donuts & Cap'n Crunch cereal.
Thomas Roger Williams said:were the people who now have OSA those who are obese were they on tablets before becoming obese
in other words did the tablets relax their muscles so much that they became obese
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crunch berries here. bavarian creme filled donuts. mmmmmmmmmmm dooonnnuuuuuuts. DOH!
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If you take a completely normal person and forced him or her to gain weight, sleep apnea will most likely follow. What I'm also describing is that as modern human jaws get smaller and smaller, we're all more prone to gain weight. Yes, it's the chicken or the egg question again, but I think it's safe to say that it's probably a combination of both.
Rock is right. Our ability to talk created an anatomic situation where with added weight or smaller jaws, we stop breathing pretty easily. Add to this our modern lifestyles, eating habits and over-stressed conditions, it's no wonder we're stuck in this situation.
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Do pigmies and other indigious people with small jaws present the same problem in significant numbers have OSA or do their diet keep them health from this problem
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Permalink Reply by Richard Neider on
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I believe that being overweight is a factor in OSA but not the only cause. The western phenomina is probalby due to better medical knowledge than most other countries.
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Permalink Reply by susan mccord on
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Rock (either of you!)--I'm not overweight and was not overweight when I first had symptoms of apnea back in the early 70's.
Should I then assume that I have a jaw issue? My dentist told me, several years ago, that I had an unusually shaped jaw and wouldn't be hard to identify if I were found dead somewhere!! (we were kidding around at the time). I didn't inquire any further about what she meant, but I'm going to next time I go in. My jaw/chin doesn't recede or seem unusual from the outside--doesn't match criteria I've heard described on SG, so it must be some kind of internal structure she was talking about. Is this the jaw issue you guys talk about?
Susan McCord
Rock Conner RRT said:Dr. Park's comment was thorough & I agree from a meta perspective, though I would add that the US OSA patient population I have observed, most notably including myself, there are an extraordinary number of subjects who are obese and beyond. That observation leads me to painfully conclude that many, and perhaps most US OSA patients have personally overeaten their way into their condition.
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