Research

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In obese patients with type 2 diabetes, untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) progresses rapidly, with AHI increasing by approximately 4 events per hour over one year even without weight gain.

If you have type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea, do not assume that staying at your current weight means your sleep apnea will stay stable. Without treatment or weight loss, your sleep apnea severity tends to worsen by about 4 events per hour each year. Early intervention is crucial to prevent this progression.

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The DSE group, which was weight stable (−0.6 kg) over 1 year, had a mean increase in AHI of 4 events per hour, a statistically significant difference... This finding suggests that untreated OSA in this age group has a relatively rapid natural progression, increasing 4 events per hour in just 1 year.
Gary D. Foster · Archives of Internal Medicine · 2009

Why this rating

Derived from the control group of a high-quality RCT.

Source

A Randomized Study on the Effect of Weight Loss on Obstructive Sleep Apnea Among Obese Patients With Type 2 Diabetes<subtitle>The Sleep AHEAD Study</subtitle><alt-title>Effect of Weight Loss on Obstructive Sleep Apnea</alt-title>

Gary D. Foster · Archives of Internal Medicine · 2009

DOI 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.266

rct · n=264Cited 525×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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