研究表明，减少舌头上的脂肪可以改善睡眠呼吸暂停情况

研究表明，减少舌头上的脂肪可以改善睡眠呼吸暂停情况

Have you ever asked yourself: Do I have a fat tongue?

你有没有问过自己：我的舌头胖吗?

It's not a idle query. If you are one of the one billion people globally who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, having a fat tongue could be a key reason you snore, choke, gasp or stop breathing periodically during the night, ruining your sleep and potentially your health.

这不是一个没用的问题。如果你是全球10亿患有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停症的人之一，那么舌头发胖可能是你在夜间周期性打鼾、窒息、喘气或停止呼吸的一个关键原因，会破坏你的睡眠，并可能损害你的健康。

"The question then was if you reduce the fat in your tongue, does that improve your sleep apnea? And the answer from our paper is 'yes,' " said Penn Medicine sleep specialist Dr. Richard Schwab, the lead author of a new study published Friday in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

“问题是，如果你减少了舌头上的脂肪，会改善你的睡眠呼吸暂停情况吗?宾夕法尼亚大学医学睡眠专家理查德·施瓦布博士说，我们论文的答案是“是的”，他是星期五发表在《美国呼吸与危重病医学杂志》上的一项新研究的主要作者。

Obesity is a key risk factor for the condition. A previous study by Schwab and his team had found obese people with obstructive sleep apnea had considerably larger tongues with higher percentages of tongue fat than obese people without the condition.

肥胖是这种疾病的一个关键危险因素。施瓦布和他的团队在之前的一项研究中发现，患有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停的肥胖者的舌头要比非阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停的肥胖者大得多，舌脂含量也更高。

The new study found you can trim down your fatty tongue as you lose overall body fat.

这项新研究发现，当你失去全身脂肪时，你可以削减你的多脂肪舌头。

"This study shows reducing excess fat in general can reduce tongue size," said Dr. Raj Dasgupta, a sleep specialist at Keck Medicine at the University of Southern California, who was not involved in the study.

南加州大学凯克医学的睡眠专家拉杰·达斯古普塔博士没有参与这项研究，他说:“这项研究表明，总体上减少多余脂肪可以减小舌头的大小。”

"In fact, the more tongue fat you lost, the more your apnea improved," said Schwab, who is the co-director of the Penn Sleep Center at Penn Medicine.

“事实上，你减掉的舌脂肪越多，你的呼吸暂停就越好，”宾夕法尼亚大学医学院睡眠中心的联席主任施瓦布说。

Costs of sleep apnea

睡眠呼吸暂停的代价

Obstructive sleep apnea, called OSA, is dangerous to one's health. lt can damage the brain's white matter, raise blood pressure, contribute to depression and heighten the risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停，又称OSA，对人的健康是危险的。它会损害大脑的白质，升高血压，导致抑郁，增加心脏病、中风和糖尿病的风险。

In America, where approximately 30 million people have obstructive sleep apnea, the cost to society in lost productivity, accidents and health care is estimated to be $150 billion a year, according to a studycommissioned by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

美国睡眠医学学会委托进行的一项研究显示，在美国，约有3000万人患有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停，生产力的下降、事故和医疗保健每年给社会造成的损失估计高达1500亿美元。

Diagnosing and treating every American could save more than $100 billion each year, the study said.

该研究称，诊断和治疗每个美国人每年可以节省1000多亿美元。