Older Age and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): Mechanism

Older age is recognized as a risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea.[1]

But why? Suspected physiologic changes with older age that increase the risk of apnea: increased collapsibility of the upper airway, reduction in genioglossus muscular tone, and reduced upper airway dilator muscle activity/responsiveness.[2,3,4]

References

1. Shochat T, Pillar G. Sleep apnoea in the older adult: pathophysiology, epidemiology, consequences and management. Drugs Aging. 2003;20(8):551-60.
2. Eikermann M, Jordan AS, Chamberlin NL, Gautam S, Wellman A, Lo YL, White DP, Malhotra A. The influence of aging on pharyngeal collapsibility during sleep. Chest. 2007 Jun;131(6):1702-9.
3. Osorio RS, Martínez-García MÁ, Rapoport DM. Sleep apnoea in the elderly: a great challenge for the future. Eur Respir J. 2021 Sep 24;59(4):2101649.