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CME / ABIM MOC / CE

Can Asthma Be Mitigated by Treating Sleep Disorders?

  • Authors: News Author: Walter Alexander; CME Author: Laurie Barclay, MD 
  • CME / ABIM MOC / CE Released: 5/26/2023
  • Valid for credit through: 5/26/2024, 11:59 PM EST
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  • Credits Available

    Physicians - maximum of 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™

    ABIM Diplomates - maximum of 0.25 ABIM MOC points

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    Pharmacists - 0.25 Knowledge-based ACPE (0.025 CEUs)

    Physician Assistant - 0.25 AAPA hour(s) of Category I credit

    IPCE - 0.25 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit

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Target Audience and Goal Statement

This activity is intended for pulmonologists, family medicine/primary care clinicians, internists, neurologists, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, physician assistants, sleep medicine clinicians, and other members of the healthcare team who care for patients with asthma.

The goal of this activity is for members of the healthcare team to be better able to describe the association of poor sleep patterns with asthma risk and whether healthy sleep patterns could mitigate the adverse effect of genetic susceptibility measured by polygenic risk scores, according to a large-scale prospective study performed in UK Biobank cohort, a national large, prospective cohort drawn from 22 UK assessment centers.

Upon completion of this activity, participants will:

  • Describe the association of poor sleep patterns with asthma risk and of healthy sleep patterns with genetic susceptibility
  • Identify clinical implications of the association of poor sleep patterns with asthma risk and of healthy sleep patterns with genetic susceptibility
  • Outline implications for the healthcare team


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News Author

  • Walter Alexander

    Freelance writer, Medscape

    Disclosures

    Walter Alexander has no relevant financial relationships.

CME Author

  • Laurie Barclay, MD

    Freelance writer and reviewer
    Medscape, LLC

    Disclosures

    Laurie Barclay, MD, has no relevant financial relationships.

Editor/Nurse Planner

  • Stephanie Corder, ND, RN, CHCP

    Associate Director, Accreditation and Compliance, Medscape, LLC

    Disclosures

    Stephanie Corder, ND, RN, CHCP, has no relevant financial relationships.

Compliance Reviewer

  • Yaisanet Oyola, MD

    Associate Director, Accreditation and Compliance, Medscape, LLC

    Disclosures

    Yaisanet Oyola, MD, has no relevant financial relationships.

Peer Reviewer

This activity has been peer reviewed and the reviewer has no relevant financial relationships.


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CME / ABIM MOC / CE

Can Asthma Be Mitigated by Treating Sleep Disorders?

Authors: News Author: Walter Alexander; CME Author: Laurie Barclay, MD Faculty and Disclosures

CME / ABIM MOC / CE Released: 5/26/2023

Valid for credit through: 5/26/2024, 11:59 PM EST

processing....

Clinical Context

The sleep-asthma association may be bidirectional: Asthma may worsen sleep quality, but poor sleep itself might also trigger or aggravate asthma. Sleep disorders are associated with specific inflammatory reactions, and asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease driven by genetic and nongenetic factors.

Whether poor sleep reflects higher asthma risk (ie, signals early progression of asthma) is still unclear. Insomnia and sleep duration are reportedly associated with asthma, but whether sleep patterns significantly affect asthma risk is still unknown.

Study Synopsis and Perspective

Early detection and management of sleep disorders could reduce asthma incidence, according to a large-scale prospective study that included nearly half a million participants. The study was reported in BMJ Open Respiratory Research.

The population-attributable risk analysis indicated that 19% of asthma cases could be prevented through improving sleep traits. The investigators took into consideration polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for asthma and comprehensive sleep scores encompassing 5 sleep traits.

Sleep quality is generally recognized as a nongenetic driver of asthma. Poor sleep quality and obstructive sleep apnea have been reported particularly among persons with severe disease. In addition, asthma is known to adversely affect sleep duration, sleep quality, napping, and daytime sleepiness.

The researchers suggested that the relationship between sleep and asthma is bidirectional, given that sleep disorders (sleep of short duration, insomnia, evening chronotype ["night owl"], snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness) are associated with specific chronic inflammatory reactions. It has remained unclear, however, whether poor sleep reflects a higher risk for early asthma progression.

Genetic factors also contribute to asthma risk, but highly variable heritability suggests that the nongenetic exposures play an important role; "[h]owever, whether healthy non-genetic exposure could decrease the risk of asthma and mitigate the adverse effect of genetic risk remains largely unknown," the authors stated.

They hypothesized that healthier sleep could decrease future asthma risk and mitigate the hazards of genetic effects.

Using data from the UK Biobank, a national large, prospective cohort drawn from 22 UK assessment centers, they investigated the independent and combined effects of sleep pattern and PRSs on asthma incidence.

In the UK Biobank cohort (455,405 adults aged 38-73 years, who were enrolled from 2006 to 2010), 17,836 were diagnosed with asthma over 10 years of follow-up. Investigators constructed polygenic risk scores for each participant on the basis of their having any of 17 single-nucleotide polymorphisms that are significantly associated with asthma. Participants were stratified into 3 groups: persons at high genetic risk, persons at intermediate genetic risk, and persons at low genetic risk. Around 1 in 3 participants were classified as being at high genetic risk (150,429), and another third (151,970) were classified as being at intermediate risk. The remainder were classified as being at low risk. Some 7105 people at high genetic risk and 5748 at intermediate genetic risk were diagnosed with asthma during the monitoring period.

Comprehensive sleep scores, which ranged from 0 to 5, were constructed on the basis of self-reported sleep traits. Higher scores represented healthier sleep patterns. A healthy sleep pattern was defined as early chronotype; getting from 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night; never or rare insomnia; no snoring; and no frequent daytime sleepiness. On the basis of their responses, 73,223 people met the criteria for a healthy sleep pattern; 284,267, an intermediate sleep pattern; and 97,915, a poor sleep pattern.

"Compared with non-cases, asthma cases were more likely to have lower education levels, unhealthy sleep traits and patterns, obesity, higher PRS, more smoking, more alcohol consumption, hypertension, diabetes, depression, gastroesophageal reflux, and more air pollution exposure," the authors reported.

All 5 healthy sleep traits were independently associated with a lower risk for asthma. Never/rare insomnia and sleep duration of 7 to 9 hours a night were seemingly the most influential; they were associated with risk reductions of 25% and 20%, respectively.

Analysis showed that compared with the low-risk group, the hazard ratios (HRs) for the highest PRS group and the poor sleep pattern group were 1.47 (95% CI: 1.41, 1.52) and 1.55 (95% CI: 1.45, 1.65), respectively.

Risk was 2-fold higher in the presence of a combination of poor sleep and high genetic susceptibility (HR 2.22 [95% CI: 1.97, 2.49]; P < .001). Conversely, a healthy sleep pattern was associated with a lower risk for asthma in the low (HR 0.56 [95% CI: 0.5, 0.64]), intermediate (HR 0.59 [95% CI: 0.53, 0.67]), and high genetic susceptibility groups (HR 0.63 [95% CI: 0.57, 0.7]). A population-attributable risk analysis indicated that improving these sleep traits would prevent 19% of asthma cases. Also, a subset analysis suggested that a healthy sleep pattern might reduce the risk for asthma among persons at high genetic risk by 37%.

The study findings suggested that analysis of sleep patterns is warranted for all patients with asthma, said co-author Qing Wang, PhD, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China, in an interview. "In our results, the effects of sleep and genetics were independent. Therefore, what we learned about the effects of sleep on asthma could be applied to all the patients, including those with a high or low genetic predisposition. In addition, we believe that intervening among those with high genetic predisposition could be more beneficial since they are more likely to have asthma. However, because this study is observational, a large clinical trial is absolutely needed to provide causal evidence, especially before guidelines modifications can be considered."

"Addressing relevant asthma comorbid conditions continues to be an integral part of asthma care," commented Diego J. Maselli, MD, associate professor of medicine and interim chief, division of pulmonary diseases and critical care, The University of Texas Health, San Antonio, Texas, in an interview. "There is mounting evidence that sleep patterns and obstructive sleep apnea may influence asthma control. This association is complex and multifactorial. It is important to remember that obstructive sleep apnea may coexist with other conditions, such as obesity and gastroesophageal reflux disease, that in turn can also worsen asthma control and influence clinical outcomes.

"The study by Xiang and colleagues adds to the field of study, but further evidence is required to change practice guidelines at this time. Fortunately, sleep studies are readily available now with more widespread use of home testing, so patients can be easily tested. The majority third-party payers have identified that diagnosing these disorders is cost-effective and are able to reimburse sleep studies," Maselli concluded.

The research was funded by the Future Program for Young Scholars and National Key Research and Development Program. The study authors and Maselli have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

BMJ Open Respir Res. 2023;10:e001535.[1]

Study Highlights

  • A large-scale prospective UK Biobank study included 455,405 participants aged 38 to 73 years; 17,836 were diagnosed with asthma during follow-up (> 10 years), including 7105 people at high and 5748 at intermediate genetic risk.
  • Asthma cases were more likely to have lower education levels, unhealthy sleep, obesity, higher PRS, more smoking, more alcohol consumption, hypertension, diabetes, depression, gastroesophageal reflux, and more air pollution exposure.
  • Comprehensive sleep scores (range, 0-5), were constructed from self-reported sleep traits (early chronotype; 7-9 hours nightly; never/rare insomnia; no snoring; no frequent daytime sleepiness).
  • Sleep pattern was healthy in 73,223 people, intermediate in 284,267, and poor in 97,915.
  • Cumulative incidence curves of genetic risk and sleep pattern groups displayed the expected risk gradients and were significantly different (P < .001).
  • All 5 healthy sleep traits were independently associated with lower asthma risk, particularly never/rare insomnia (25% risk reduction), and duration of 7 to 9 hours nightly (20%).
  • Compared with the low-risk PRS group, HRs were 1.47 (95% CI: 1.41, 1.52) for the highest PRS group and 1.55 (95% CI: 1.45, 1.65) for the poor sleep pattern group, according to multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression.
  • For poor sleep combined with high genetic susceptibility, risk was doubled compared with the low-risk combination (HR 2.22 [95% CI: 1.97, 2.49]; P < .001).
  • PRS and sleep patterns had a dose-response relationship with asthma risk and had no significant interactions with PRS (P interaction = .07).
  • Healthy sleep pattern was associated with lower asthma risk in the low (HR 0.56 [95% CI: .5, 0.64]), intermediate (HR 0.59 [95% CI: 0.53, 0.67]) and high (HR 0.63 [95% CI: 0.57, 0.7]) genetic susceptibility groups.
  • The sleep pattern effect was slightly larger in female persons (HR 1.38 in men; HR 1.5 in women; P = .01).
  • Population-attributable risk analysis suggested that improving poor sleep traits could prevent 19% of asthma cases overall, or 37% among persons at high genetic risk.
  • The investigators concluded that unhealthy sleep patterns and sleep traits at baseline were significantly associated with asthma risk and could be a useful biomarker for adults.
  • Adults with poor sleep patterns and higher genetic susceptibility have an additive higher asthma risk.
  • Healthy sleep pattern in adults reflected lower asthma risk and could facilitate asthma prevention regardless of genetic susceptibility, given independent effects of sleep and genetics.
  • Early detection and management of sleep disorders might help reduce asthma incidence.
  • Although sleep pattern analysis is warranted for all asthma patients, intervention may be more beneficial among persons with high genetic predisposition who are more likely to develop asthma.
  • Healthy sleep patterns in the high genetic risk group presented a slightly lower risk than poor sleep patterns in the low genetic risk group (HR 1.54 vs HR 1.68, respectively), suggesting that healthy sleep could offset genetic risk.
  • Because this study is observational, a large clinical trial is essential to provide causal evidence, especially before guidelines modifications can be considered.
  • Asthma management requires addressing comorbidities including sleep disturbance.
  • OSA may coexist with obesity, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and other conditions that can also worsen asthma control.
  • Genetic testing for asthma risk is not widely available and not yet ready for routine clinical practice.
  • Sleep studies should be reserved for symptomatic patients testing positive on screening questionnaires.
  • Mechanisms underlying the role of sleep in asthma development may include sleep-induced chronic inflammation, as unfavorable sleep duration and insomnia are associated with chronic inflammation, and chronotype, snoring, and sleepiness with specific inflammatory reactions.
  • Sleep disorders are also accompanied by chronic activation of the stress response, increased hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and sympathetic nervous system activity, disordered microbiome-based brain-gut axis and triggered aberrations of RNA modifications, all implicated in asthma development.

Clinical Implications

  • Unhealthy sleep patterns and traits at baseline were significantly associated with asthma risk.
  • Poor sleep patterns and higher genetic susceptibility additively increase asthma risk.
  • Implications for the Healthcare Team: The early detection and management of sleep disturbance, should be part of a comprehensive, team-based assessment for individuals at risk for asthma.

 

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