It’s not a happy holiday thought, but an important one: The number of babies who die of SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, surges by 33 percent on New Year’s Day.
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deaths
Dec
21
2010
SIDS spikes 33% on New Year’s Day
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a serious lung disease which makes it hard to breathe. Also known by other names, such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis, COPD is now the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, but it also causes long-term disability. The number of people living with COPD is on the rise — more than 12 million are currently diagnosed with it. It’s estimated another 12 million may have COPD yet do not realize it nor have they been diagnosed.
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Stroke victims who have obstructive sleep apnea die sooner than stroke victims who do not have sleep apnea or who have central sleep apnea, according to Swedish researchers, who will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society’s 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Monday, May 19.
The researchers followed 132 stroke patients over 10 years. Twenty-three of those patients had obstructive sleep apnea; 28 of those patients had central sleep apnea. Those with an obstructive apnea-hypopnea index of 15 or greater were 76 percent more likely to die earlier. Those with a lower apnea-hypopnea index of 10 were also at greater risk of early death.
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Commercial truck accidentrs are a significant public health hazard causing thousands of deaths and injuries each year, with driver fatigue and sleepiness being major causes.
A new study has confirmed previous findings that obesity-driven testing strategies identify commercial truck drivers with a high likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea and suggests that mandating obstructive sleep apnea screenings could reduce the risk of truck crashes.
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Epidemiologic surveys suggest that mean sleep duration among U.S. adults has decreased during the past two decades (CDC, unpublished data, 2007). An estimated 50–70 million persons in the United States have chronic sleep and wakefulness disorder.
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On July 9, 2007 Nancy Grace, the former prosecutor-turned-talk-show-host, made a large error that has cause an uproar in the patient sector of the sleep community. The professional sector, primarily sleep physicians and many sleep-related organizations, have remained silent.
Grace’s show was about the 2006 death of former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler Mike Durham, saying, in her words, that sleep apnea is basically snoring, and you know, not breathing for a few seconds periodically through the night. You don`t die of sleep apnea. That is complete BS.
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