Epidemiology and Etiology of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Yoon, Dae Wui; Kim, Jin Kwan; Shin, Chol

doi:2015.89.1.6

Korean J Med > Volume 89(1); 2015 > Article

Special Review

호흡기

The Korean Journal of Medicine 2015;89(1):6-12.
Published online July 1, 2015.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3904/kjm.2015.89.1.6

Epidemiology and Etiology of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Dae Wui Yoon¹, Jin Kwan Kim², Chol Shin³

¹Institute of Human Genomic Study, Korea University College of Medicine, Ansan, Korea
²Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Jungwon University College of Health Science, Goesan, Korea
³Division of Sleep, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Ansan Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Ansan, Korea

폐쇄성 수면 무호흡증의 역학과 병인

윤대위¹, 김진관², 신철³

^¹고려대학교 의과대학 인간유전체 연구소
^²중원대학교 의료보건대학 임상병리학교실
^³고려대학교 의과대학 안산병원 호흡기내과

Correspondence:
Chol Shin, Tel: +82-31-412-5603, Fax: +82-31-412-5604, Email: chol-shin@korea.ac.kr

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of common sleep disorders in western countries, affecting 4% of males and 2% of females. It is characterized by repeated obstruction of the upper airway during sleep, leading to intermittent hypoxemia, sympathetic activation, and sleep fragmentation. OSA is an independent risk factor for a range of medical problems, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and cognitive dysfunctions. The etiology of OSA is complex and incompletely understood, but recent studies have shown that the development of OSA depends on the structure of the airway anatomy, the responsiveness of the upper airway dilator muscle to stimulation, and the stability of the respiratory control system. This review details the epidemiological and experimental evidence surrounding the associations between OSA and chronic diseases. Recent findings on the etiology of OSA will also be discussed.

Key Words: Obstructive sleep apnea; Cardiovascular diseases; Etiology; Sleep disorders

주제어: 폐쇄성 수면 무호흡증; 심혈관계 질환; 발병기전; 수면장애