Research has shown that women in menopause have a higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea as their salt intake increases.
The research team at Gangbuk Samsung Hospital announced on the 7th that they reached this conclusion after tracking and analyzing 2,572 menopausal women aged 42 to 52 over a period of 10 years.
Sleep apnea refers to the condition where a person stops breathing or gasps for air during the night. Many middle-aged women experience such symptoms as they enter menopause. This can lead to chronic fatigue and insomnia, and if left untreated, can result in serious complications such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, brain diseases, and cognitive impairments.
In this regard, the research team surveyed participants' eating habits through questionnaires and divided them into three groups based on their salt intake. They then analyzed the risk of obstructive sleep apnea among participants in each group.
The results showed a significant correlation between salt intake and the risk of sleep apnea. The group with the highest salt intake saw a sharp increase in risk from the early stages of menopause, while the group with the lowest salt intake showed an increase in risk after menopause.
Professor Jang Yoo-soo from the Healthcare Data Center at Gangbuk Samsung Hospital explained, "As female hormones decrease due to menopause, the tension in the upper airway muscles decreases, leading to a reduced ability to control breathing. When combined with a high-salt diet, unnecessary fluids accumulate in the body, narrowing the upper airway during sleep and increasing the likelihood of sleep apnea."
Professor Shin Soo-jung from the Department of Family Medicine at Gangbuk Samsung Hospital also stated, "Hormonal changes are inevitable, but salt intake is a modifiable lifestyle habit. Improving lifestyle habits, such as reducing salt intake from the early stages of menopause, can help not only the sleep health of middle-aged women but also prevent cardiovascular and metabolic diseases."
The results of this study were recently published in the international journal 《Nutrients》.
