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People who snore loudly, have difficulty falling asleep or often wake up tired may be at risk of developing heart disease. People who reported feeling snoring loudly were more likely to have metabolic syndrome
Sleep problems are "a big deal," an ear, nose and throat specialist said
Sleep problems could contribute directly to risk factors for heart disease and diabetes

(Health.com)--people who snore loudly, have difficulty falling asleep or wake up often feel fatigue may have more to worry about from dozing at work. A new study suggests may also be at increased risk of developing heart disease and other health problems down the road.

The study, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh asked more than 800 persons aged between 45 and 74 regarding quality of sleep. Three years later, people mentioned snoring loudly was more than twice as likely as quiet sleepers have metabolic syndrome--a cluster of risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and stroke including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low ' good ' cholesterol, high triglycerides and belly excess fat.

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People who have trouble falling asleep or that I woke up feeling unrefreshed at least three times per week was around 80 percent and 70 percent more likely than their peers, respectively, to develop three or more of these risk factors, the study found. (Someone must have three of the five risk factors to obtain a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.)

Sleep problems are "a big deal," says Jordan Josephson, M.D., an ear, nose and throat specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. "It is bad for the heart, bad for diabetes, and lead to heart attacks and stroke. ... It can shorten your life. " (Josephson was not involved in the new survey).

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Overall, 14 percent of study participants developed metabolic syndrome. African Americans were more sensitive than white, as were sedentary people as compared with those who were physically active.

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The findings, appearing in the journal sleep, echo previous studies have shown a link between sleep difficulties and health problems such as obesity and high blood pressure. But this is the first study to follow people with sleep problems over time to see if they develop metabolic syndrome, according to the authors.

Virend Somers, M.D., Professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, says that sleep deprivation is "epidemic" which is "almost in parallel with the epidemic of obesity and widespread increase, risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. The links between obesity and metabolic syndrome are known, but the role that sleep plays was less clear, Somers says.

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The new study I cannot prove that snoring or any other sleep problem actually cause metabolic syndrome affects approximately 25 percent of adults in the US and although researchers did controlling for race, physical activity, alcohol consumption and other factors, it is likely that obesity is partly responsible for linking problems sleep and metabolic syndrome.

However, sleep problems could contribute directly to risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. "Chronic sleep disorders may generate high levels of stress hormones and overstated cardiovascular responses, which could lead to changes in blood pressure, glucose metabolism and weight," says the study's lead author, Wendy Troxel, Ph. d., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Troxel physics of snoring itself could be even to blame, he says. Experiments have suggested that body vibrations caused by snoring can increase potentially damaging inflammation in the lining of the arteries, it explains.

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Hormoz Ashtyani, M.D., Medical Director of the Institute for sleep Wake disorders at Hackensack University Medical Center, in New Jersey, says doctors should begin by asking patients about their quality of sleep in order to assess their risk for heart disease and diabetes. "If you see a new patient, you always ask if smoke [them], [] have heart disease and so on," says Ashtyani. "Snoring and poor sleep also should be increased."Enter to win a monthly contest Makeover room from MyHomeIdeas. comCopyright Magazine health 2010

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