Public health researchers at the University of California, Irvine found a strong correlation between sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease risks in Chinese and Korean Americans. The study is among the first of its kind that looks at the connection between sleep apnea and high cholesterol and diabetes in these Asian American sub-groups, and particularly how these associations vary by age, gender, Asian origin, obesity, chronic conditions, and daytime sleepiness.
The research team also found that sleep apnea in men was associated with high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as high cholesterol for those who were overweight. Findings are published in the journal Sleep Epidemiology.
Sampling the health information of nearly 400 Chinese and Korean Americans ages 50-75 from the Baltimore-Washington D.C. Metropolitan area, the researchers examined the associations of high-risk sleep apnea with diagnoseable high cholesterol and diabetes, as well as other measures of cardiovascular risk. They used a log-linear approach, or the Poisson regression model, to come to their conclusion and they pulled in demographic factors, socioeconomic status, and body mass index.
Another significant finding was that among younger Chinese and Korean Americans, sleep apnea was associated with higher levels of triglycerides, which tends to be a precursor to more serious cardiovascular risk.
“We weren’t particularly surprised by our findings, but now we have a more complete picture of sleep apnea’s link to cardiovascular disease among Chinese and Korean Americans that we didn’t have before. People often assume that Asian Americans aren’t at risk for cardiovascular disease, when they are at higher risk at lower body mass than other populations,” said corresponding author, Brittany Morey, PhD, assistant professor of health, society and behavior with the UCI Program in Public Health. “Health equity is about finding ways to address health disparities in ways that work for those most at-risk.”
Further studies could focus on how to improve sleep health in Asian American populations to prevent cardiovascular disease.
Additional authors include Yuxi Shi and Sunmin Lee, both from UCI; Soomin Ryu from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy; and Susan Redline and Ichiro Kawachi, both from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
