Diseases & Conditions
Poor sleep heightens risk of COPD flare ups
Research we're watching
- Reviewed by Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who sleep poorly are far likelier than those who sleep well to experience flare-ups of worsened breathing, a new study suggests. COPD, a progressive, incurable lung condition, affects more than 16 million adults in the United States. Many factors, ranging from air pollutants to viruses, can trigger flare-ups.
The study, published online June 6, 2022, by the journal Sleep, tracked 1,647 current and former smokers over three years. (The vast majority of COPD patients have smoked.) Participants described their sleep using seven measures, including duration, timing, and frequency of disturbances. Researchers combined each person's responses into a score of sleep quality, which they compared to the person's recorded number of COPD flare-ups. Compared with participants who had the best possible sleep scores, those with generally poor sleep showed a 25% higher chance of experiencing a COPD flare-up within the following year. For participants with the worst sleep scores, odds of a flare-up over the next year nearly doubled.
Image: © Phynart Studio/Getty Images
About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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