Questions of the Week
This Week's Question of the Week
Is sleep apnea a hereditary sleep disorder?
Jane
Answer to the Question of the Week
Jane,
It has been shown that sleep apnea is more likely to occur when a person has family members with this disease. The degree to which heredity increases one's risk of developing sleep apnea continues to be investigated. Researchers have not been able to always consistently pinpoint familial factors for this. Some family members share obesity; while others share similar jaw structures. Still other families seem to share abnormalities in breathing regulation. But in many families, there are no apparent physiological factors for genetic transmission.
Interestingly, sudden infant death syndrome and adult sleep apnea occur more commonly in family clusters, although the manifestation of each syndrome is different. This could support the belief that families may share problems with the control of breathing during sleep. It is very likely that a combination of the above factors interact to create susceptibility for sleep apnea.
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