Research from the University of Pennsylvania reveals that weight loss in obese individuals with sleep apnea significantly reduces symptoms, primarily through fat reduction in the tongue.
Obesity affects the entire body, including those with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAH). A study published January 10, 2019, in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine zeroed in on the tongue. Led by Dr. Richard J. Schwab at the University of Pennsylvania, the research showed that losing fat mass in the tongue helps alleviate sleep apnea symptoms in obese patients.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) involves pauses in breathing (apnea) or reduced airflow (hypopnea) during sleep due to relaxation of the pharyngeal wall muscles, obstructing air passage and causing snoring vibrations.
Building on Dr. Schwab's 2014 findings that obese OSA patients have larger tongues with higher fat content, this study tested whether tongue fat reduction could ease symptoms.
It involved 67 obese patients with sleep apnea who underwent sleep studies and MRIs of the abdomen and pharynx. Over six months, they lost an average of 10% of their total body weight through diet or bariatric surgery.
The researchers found tongue fat loss provided the greatest benefit—the strongest link between weight loss and symptom improvement. Losses in the pterygoid muscles and pharyngeal lateral walls offered lesser but positive effects. Future treatments targeting tongue fat may soon emerge.
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