A new study is showing that rugby players are more likely to suffer sleep-disordered breathing than an average middle-aged man. The same study of university rugby players states that athletes are suffering from this problem have more than likely lower levels of oxygen in their pulse and a higher pulse rate during the night. Therefore, the study suggests that athletes that suffer from sleep-disordered breathing are at risk of heart abnormalities.
Young Athletes Suffering From Sleep Disordered Breathing
The most interesting thing about this new study is that it might reveal why young athletes who are in top shape are dying from a sudden heart attack. Young athletes die from heart attacks more often that you would think, and we might finally have an answer for this problem.
Athletes who suffer from sleep-disordered breathing or SDB for short will suffer from abnormal respiratory patterns or pauses in their sleep. This can range from sleep apnea where the airway is either entirely or partially closed during sleep to snoring.
SDB Causes Serious Health Problems
SDB is also the main factor that causes people over 40 years of age and have a large neck circumference to suffer from chronic diseases such as heart failure, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
“We wanted to investigate the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in collision sport athletes, such as rugby or American-style football players, because we know that they usually have a higher BMI and larger neck circumference than athletes from other sports,” said Yshitaka Iso who is a cardiologist and an Associate Professor at Showa University Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences.
“Sleep disordered breathing was observed in 43% of the young athletes we assessed. This is a higher rate than we expected, and is higher still than the levels of SDB reported among middle-aged men from the general population of the US and Europe. Our data also showed that several potential warning signs, such as effects on the athletes’ breathing and heart rates, occurred frequently among the athletes with SDB,” added Professor Yshitaka Iso.
