Scientists have found that those living with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have a 71 per cent higher risk of cardiovascular events (CVEs) or death from any cause (all-cause mortality) compared with those not living with OSA. New research, to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, May 12-15), is a collaboration between Imperial College Health Partners; Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK; and Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly).
“In adults, obstructive sleep apnea is linked to higher risk of cardiovascular events or all-cause mortality, especially among those with obesity, even after adjusting for confounders,” said study co-author Heather Fitzke of Imperial College Health Partners, London.
OSA is characterised by recurrent upper airway obstruction during sleep and is associated with reduced quality of sleep and life and increased cardiovascular risk. The prevalence of obesity and overweight among people with OSA is between 40-70 per cent, and people living with obesity are more likely to experience more severe OSA than those without the condition.
In this new study, the primary objective was to assess the increased risk of the combined endpoint of CVEs or death among adults with a diagnosis of OSA compared to adults without OSA. The study used electronic health records from 2.9 million residents.
In the analysis, 20,300 people diagnosed with OSA were matched with 97,412 comparators; 57.2 per cent (11,613) of those participants with OSA were living with obesity compared to 56.7 per cent (55,264) of the matched participants without OSA. The authors found the risk of CVEs or all-cause mortality among people with OSA was 71 per cent higher than in the matched controls without OSA.
These findings underscore the need for effective obesity management and highlight the importance of early screening and timely diagnosis. To our knowledge, this is the largest matched case-control study of obstructive sleep apnea outside the US to date, Fitzke added.