TUESDAY, May 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) – People with severe obstructive sleep apnea are at higher risk of developing COVID-19, according to a new study.
However, researchers at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California also found that the longer patients used a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) mask, the more the risk of COVID-19 decreased.
For the study, a team led by pulmonologist Dr. Dennis Hwang data on nearly 82,000 US patients screened for sleep disorders between 2015 and 2020.
Of these, nearly 1,500 would test positive for COVID-19 infection. A total of 224 were hospitalized and 61 were in intensive care and / or died.
Untreated sleep apnea was linked to a higher COVID-19 infection rate, the results showed.
“Greater PAP adherence when therapy was used for at least four hours per night during the pandemic also indicated a decreased infection rate,” the researchers reported.
The study also linked obesity, more chronic illnesses, and use of Medicaid to higher COVID-19 infection rates. Black and Hispanic patients also had higher rates of COVID-19 infection.
Although the elderly are generally at a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the study linked increasing age to a decreased infection rate.
The researchers were also surprised that apnea patients using their CPAP therapy often had even lower COVID-19 infection rates than those without apnea.
“This also supports a direct physiological benefit of [CPAP] Therapy, “Hwang said in a press release from the American Thoracic Society.
Hwang said both biological and behavioral factors could be involved in the relationship between apnea and COVID-19 risk.
“The higher infection rate with more severe obstructive sleep apnea and the common medical risk factors between sleep apnea and COVID-19 such as male sex, obesity and the presence of cardiovascular disease support a biological impact, possibly through effects on respiratory function and airway inflammation and sleep fragmentation,” said he.
At the same time, the link between older age and reduced COVID infection rates supports an explanation of the behavior, said Hwang. Patients with apnea tend to be older, and elderly patients may be more cautious about masking, social distancing, and other pandemic-related behaviors, he said.
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