![]() To illustrate this point, see a large VA study by Sharafkhanel et al., Association of psychiatric disorders and sleep apnea in a large cohort. There is growing evidence that this population also suffers from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep-related breathing disorder, more often than the general population (Jaoude, Vermont, Porhomayon, & El-Solh, 2015).” ![]() It is important to be aware that insomnia and recurrent nightmares are often not the only sleep disorders that individuals with PTSD experience. As these studies indicate, insomnia is the norm for Veterans with PTSD… In the Millennium Cohort Study, an ongoing epidemiologic cohort study of military health, 92% of active duty personnel with PTSD, compared to 28% of those without PTSD, reported clinically significant insomnia (Seelig et al., 2010). “Insomnia is one of the most common symptoms of PTSD, and has been reported to occur in 90-100% of Vietnam era Veterans with the disorder (McLay, Klam, & Volkert, 2010 Neylan et al., 1998). For that reason, the VA must rely on the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea in the veteran population and not in the general population, where the relative incidence of PTSD is low, and the main cause of obstructive sleep apnea is then obesity.Ī VA’s own website reported that sleep apnea is more common in veterans suffering from PTSD than in the general population: These conditions are extremely common in veterans, but rather uncommon in the general public. The major causes for OSA in veterans, however, are PTSD, mood disorder and tinnitus. The VA expert, in his opinion, the obesity and only obesity causes obstructive sleep apnea, relied solely on the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea in the general public, where obesity and age are the main causes]. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a Unique Veteran Disease If they had mechanical obstruction of the airway they will be symptomatic when awake. For this reason, sleep apnea patients experience little or no problems with their breathing or airway patency while awake. Clearly, by Dorland’s definition obstructive sleep apnea is a dynamic process and not a fixed mechanical obstruction. In a supine patient, the paralyzed tongue slips back and obstructs the airway.Ī common misconception is that fat deposits in the neck cause obstructive sleep apnea. During REM the patient is dreaming, and with the exception of the eyeballs, the entire body is paralyzed. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) occurs during 25% of the sleep cycle. ![]() Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is caused by an airway blockage that occurs when the soft tissue in the back of the throat and primarily the tongue are paralyzed during REM sleep, collapse and block the airway. Sleep Apnea is a Unique Veteran Disease caused by PTSD and tinnitus and not only by obesityįor VA rating purposes, the veteran needs to show that he suffers from sleep apnea whether of the obstructive type, central type or mixed type.ĭorland’s medical dictionary defines sleep apnea as: “Sleep apnea resulting from collapse or obstruction of the airway with the inhibition of muscle tone that occurs during REM sleep.” ![]()
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