Risk of Sleep Breathing Disorder Set to Rise 45% by End of Century
Rising temperatures could increase the chances of experiencing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by nearly 50 percent by the end of the century, placing a greater burden on society through loss of health, wellbeing, and productivity.
This is the result of a recent investigation into the effects of local temperature increases on OSA, a condition where a person's airways become blocked while sleeping for more than 10 seconds at least five times an hour throughout the night.
"This study helps us to understand how environmental factors like climate might affect health by investigating whether ambient temperatures influence the severity of OSA," says sleep scientist Bastien Lechat from Flinders University in Australia, who led the study.
"Overall, we were surprised by the magnitude of the association between ambient temperature and OSA severity."
Many of the nearly 1 billion people globally with this sleep disorder don't even know they have it, yet it can take a serious toll on their health. Aside from affecting sleep quality, OSA alters the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.
In the long term, this imbalance can affect insulin and glucose metabolism, mental function and mood, and can even lead to cardiovascular problems like heart failure and stroke. Previous research has also linked untreated or severe OSA with increased risk of dementia, Parkinson's disease, traffic accidents, and all-cause mortality.
Lechat and his colleagues drew on data from an under-mattress sleep sensor used by 116,620 people across 29 countries between January 2020 and September 2023. The sensor detects movement and sound which can be analyzed to create estimates of sleep timing, quality, and breathing.
The researchers matched this data – around 500 separate nights per person – with detailed, 24 hour temperature data for participant's nearest cities. In 2023, this coincided with the highest mean temperature recordings on record in over 2000 years, 2.07 °C above pre-industrial levels.
"Higher temperatures were associated with a 45 percent increased likelihood of a sleeper experiencing OSA on a given night," Lechat says.
"The increase in OSA prevalence in 2023 due to global warming was associated with a loss of approximately 800,000 healthy life years across the 29 countries studied. This number is similar to other medical conditions, such as bipolar disorder, Parkinson's disease or chronic kidney diseases."
They estimate that the resulting wellbeing burden and workplace productivity loss cost economies a total of around $98 billion USD, with an estimated 105 million days of workplace productivity lost. All up, this would double the condition's estimated burden on society compared with today.
"Importantly, these findings varied by region, with people in European countries seeing higher rates of OSA when temperatures rise than those in Australia and the United States, perhaps due to different rates of air conditioning usage," Lechat adds.
Because the sleep sensors from which the data were collected are more readily available to people in higher socioeconomic countries and individuals, this study may actually underestimate the true health and economic cost of OSA exacerbated by climate change.
These people may have access to better sleep environments and air conditioning, the researchers point out, mitigating the effect of temperature on their sleep.
Modeling based on government climate change policies from 2020 suggests global warming will raise temperatures by around 2.1–3.4 °C by 2100, unless greenhouse gas emissions are further reduced.
"The health and economic impact of these estimates would be consequential, and the increase in OSA prevalence due to rising temperatures in such scenario may double the overall OSA burden," the authors report.
The research was published in Nature Communications.
Breakthrough: FDA Approves Injection to Prevent HIV
Is It Gastro or Food Poisoning? Here's A Guide to Your Upset Stomach
Axolotl Discovery Brings Us Closer Than Ever to Regrowing Human Limbs
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Experts stunned after discovering beloved creatures in backyard of major city: 'Seems to be a bit of a secret'
A first-of-its-kind study of koala populations across hundreds of sites in New South Wales, Australia, revealed a stunning but pleasant surprise: almost 300 living in the backyard of a major city. The Sugarloaf State Conservation Area lies just west of Newcastle, the second-largest city in New South Wales. The study used thermal drones fitted with spotlights to survey 208 sites across the region. Once the drone picked up a heat spot, it would then close in on the location to confirm the source. According to this made it possible for the Newcastle University researchers to distinguish koalas from other mammals. "The koala population at Sugarloaf seems to be a bit of a secret even though it's in close proximity to Newcastle," Dr. Ryan Witt, one of the study's authors, said. The study found 290 koalas foraging in the trees of Sugarloaf, far more than previously believed. Koalas are one of Australia's most distinctive and beloved animals. Despite spending the vast majority of their time snoozing, these charming marsupials are incredibly important to the health of the ecosystem. In the roughly four to six hours a day they are awake, they consume vast quantities of eucalyptus leaves, equivalent to around 10% of their body weight. Because the leaves are so devoid of nutrition, they don't get around much and tend to stay in the same few home trees. As the International Fund for Animal Welfare notes, koalas are key to sustaining the health of the forests they reside in. This is especially noteworthy as eucalyptus trees are highly efficient carbon sequesters. Unfortunately, the koala's numbers have dwindled significantly because of habitat loss, droughts, wildfires, and disease. The unexpected discovery of a large number of koalas so close to a major city offers some hope for the future. As the study noted, surveys of wildlife populations tend to be expensive, inaccurate, and time-consuming. However, this new approach provides a more accurate and cost-effective method for tracking wildlife. The insights gained from this study will help inform more effective conservation strategies in the future, both at the local and national levels. Moreover, the methods can be applied to other wildlife, as the study concludes: "Our approach could be easily applied to arboreal folivores across large-spatial scales to improve baseline abundance estimates over space or to improve our understanding of the impact of disturbance events, such as wildfire." Do you think America is in a housing crisis? Definitely Not sure No way Only in some cities Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Forbes
6 hours ago
- Forbes
New Study Finds Women And Young People Hit Hardest By Climate Anxiety
A young woman holds a cardboard 'No nature, no future'. (Photo by Alain Pitton/NurPhoto via Getty ... More Images) I never quite believed climate anxiety was real until about a year ago when I spoke to a couple of young people who shared that they were unsure whether they wanted to have children in the future. Their reasoning was simple and complex to shake off: who wants to bring a child into a world of droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events linked to climate change? So, when I read about the finding of the new study published in the Journal of Global Environmental Change that such anxiety particularly impacts women and young people, it stirred my curiosity. Whether one believes in climate anxiety or not, it's hard to deny that more and more young people are experiencing it. Climate anxiety responds to an uncertain future where climate change threatens long-term survival. Just a few days ago, thousands of citizens from Tuvalu—a small island nation in the Pacific facing the risk of drowning due to rising sea levels—applied for a climate-linked visa ballot to move to Australia, showcasing just how real the situation is. The reality of climate anxiety is strongly supported by academic research. The new study released this week by psychologists is not the first to report investigating the impact of climate-related anxiety. There have been many more in the past, covering many countries. For example, a survey of over 4,000 students in Germany earlier this month found that more than 40% experienced high or extreme levels of climate anxiety. Another study by Yale University found that about 64% of respondents in the US were worried about climate change. However, the new research stands out—it is the first meta-analysis, combining results from 94 studies involving 170,747 adults across 27 countries. It also underscores that women and young people are especially likely to experience climate anxiety. These studies on climate anxiety raise a key question: What are we doing about this? The growing evidence suggests the urgent need to consider the mental health aspects of climate adaptation alongside the other dimensions. They also highlight that the mental health impacts of climate change deserve to be integrated into climate and health planning more holistically. Why Addressing Climate Anxiety Is Essential to Climate Adaptation Climate adaptation isn't just about helping biodiversity and ecosystems adjust to rising temperatures, protecting jobs, housing, or migration from low-lying areas. It also means offering psychological support for people suffering from climate anxiety—whether caused by economic losses, displacement, or anxiety about the future. The American Psychological Association recommends building psychologists' capacity to help individuals cope with and adapt to climate change as a key part of its action plan for psychologists. This recommendation is critical as the number of physiologists dealing with patients who have expressed these concerns is not tiny anymore. One survey from Germany shows that 72% of psychotherapists reported having patients who raised concerns about climate change during treatment, as evidenced by a nationwide survey of 573 professionals. Breaking The Silos Between Climate And Health The intersection of climate and health—both physical and mental—is still underexplored. Understanding the climate-health nexus means examining how climate change affects health and how health systems can support climate action. This integrated understanding of climate and health calls for sustainability professionals to pay closer attention to health outcomes and for health professionals to respond to the growing pressures that climate change places on healthcare systems. The US National Academy of Medicine has begun advancing this conversation. It has started convening climate and health professionals to co-develop a roadmap for transformative action toward achieving health for all at net zero emissions. Where Do We Go From Here? It is not surprising that young people are at the forefront of climate anxiety—they are the ones who will face the long-term consequences of today's decisions. Here are two keyways forward: Managing climate action is not just about managing natural or economic resources. It's also about safeguarding people's well-being. With 1.8 billion young people under 25 in the world now, climate anxiety cannot be ignored in strategies to cope with a future of living with climate change.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Symptoms of climate change such as extreme heat can impact insect activity
Climate change symptoms like rising temperatures in Augusta are affecting gnat and other insect activity. 'Changing Climate can affect them in some ways,' said Elmer Gray, entomologist, at the University of Georgia. 'One thing that's going to help them is staying warm at night. Wednesday night I don't know if it got below 77 degrees. We know that insects like warmer temperatures. Warmer temperatures mean a longer growing season.' Gray added, 'They may grow longer into the fall, if it stays warmer into October. So they'll have more chances to create more generations in a life cycle.' Gray said insects need humidity. 'We've had so much rain throughout the end of spring and into the beginning of summer,' said Gray. 'The temperatures have warmed up, so everything is starting to grow faster. They completed their life cycle quicker. When we have lots of moisture in the environment, whether it's in the soil, standing water collecting in containers, all of these things provide habitats that increase the productivity of a wide range of insects.' 'The term gnat is kind of interesting,' said Gray. 'Gnat is a general term for a small fly. So, what you're calling a gnat in Augusta is going to be a different insect than what they call a gnat in Pennsylvania. Gnat is a general term, typically for insects that swarm about our faces. Black flies and other gnats are attracted to the carbon dioxide in our breath.' Gray added, 'It tells them there's an animal there. Then they're going to get closer and try to pick up the final cues as to whether you're the kind of animal that they like to feed on.' 'As far as the eye gnats they're attracted to the moist membranes,' he said. 'So your eyes are where they're drawn to. For other animals, they'll get around the genitals and other places. When we say Diptera or fly that means insects that have two wings. A lot of our common insects that we deal with are a type of fly.' Different types of flies according to Gray: House flies Black flies Blow flies Mosquitoes 'So right now is peak season,' said Gray. 'Now, if it stops raining and everything starts drying up, if we go into drought conditions, the insects suffer. It's very common for the insect populations to kind of go down in the heat of the summer. If you think it's hot outside for us, well, it's hot outside for them too. Insects are very susceptible to drying out.' 'It tends to be drier from August to September,' said Gray. 'If we have a hurricane that could mean a lot of flooding. Then things start getting wet again.' 'For mosquitoes, you want to be very diligent about eliminating standing water around your homes and in your neighborhood and communities,' he said. ' Richmond County has a good mosquito control program down there in Augusta. If people are having problems with mosquitoes, they should reach out to the Richmond County Public Health to let them know what's going on.' Tips for homeowners according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Empty or throw out any items that hold water like tires, buckets, planters, toys, pools, birdbaths, flower pot saucers, or trash containers. Ensure screens are secure, free of tears, and properly installed to keep insects out while allowing fresh air in. When sleeping outdoors or in areas with poor screening, use a mosquito bed net. Wear loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and pants. 'I'm a homeowner,' said Gray. 'It's easy to have a bucket for picking up sticks in the yard, or the old boat that you use once in a while. So you really need to be diligent about eliminating standing water. Most of the biting flies are attracted to darker colors. So light colored, loose fitting clothing will help. If you're planning on going to a ball game or going to watch fireworks on the Fourth of July you might want to apply an EPA approved repellent to your exposed skin.' Gray said there's a lot of misinformation surrounding natural ways to get rid of pests. "The plants that have oils that can repel insects have to be crushed and processed," said Gray. "So the Citronella plant is not good. There have been studies conducted that show mosquitoes will actually land on it. Yes, citronella oil can repel mosquitoes to some degree. Oil of lemon eucalyptus is one thing that works. T's naturally derived and very effective." This reporting content is supported by a partnership with several funders and Journalism Funding Partners. Erica Van Buren is the climate change reporter for The Augusta Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at EVanBuren@ or on X: @EricaVanBuren32. This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Impacts of extreme heat may mean more insect, pests activity
