Can lifestyle interventions within the sleep pathway aid weight loss?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A feasibility study to assess whether lifestyle interventions within the obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) diagnostic pathway increase patient motivation toward weight loss
IRAS ID
288789
Contact name
Geraldine O'Connell-Ramsay
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University for the West of England
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 24 days
Research summary
Obesity is a rapidly increasing global epidemic with considerable personal and consequences for the wider society. An increase in rising levels of obesity is associated with an increase in the occurrences of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). OSA is a condition which causes disrupted sleep due to snoring and obstructed breathing. Sufferers can many a time, momentarily, stop breathing during sleep, causing suffers to awake from sleep which can mean that they are sleepy during the daytime due to disrupted sleeping. This can affect quality of life and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes, impaired daily functioning and mood (Guglielmi et al., 2013), as well as greater risk of vehicle and occupational accidents (Jurado-Gamez et al.,2015). A person with OSA may experience daytime sleepiness, be less active and therefore at greater risk for weight gain (Hamilton et al., 2017).
By intervening and studying sufferers early, the aim is to help motivate patients to make better lifestyle choices, increase exercise and lose weight and hopefully reduce the need for long term treatment with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). By attempting to address obesity in this cohort of patients, we are addressing the cause of OSA rather than just treating the symptoms with CPAP. Weight loss will improve the patient’s well-being and reduce the risk factors associated with obesity which in turn would reduce the burden on the NHS.REC name
South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SC/0340
Date of REC Opinion
17 Nov 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion