The build up of fat in the liver and sleep apnea appear now to be closely related and primarily affect a particular demographic of obese people.
In a study published last year in the journal Chest, researchers looked at 226 obese middle-aged men and women who were referred to a clinic because they were suspected of having sleep apnea. Two-thirds of the patients were found to have fatty liver disease which increased the severity of their sleep apnea.
Another study published last year in The Journal of Pediatrics found a similar correlation. Out of a group of children diagnosed with fatty liver disease, 60 percent of them also had sleep apnea. More extreme apnea episodes led to scarring of the liver because of increased inflammation.
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According to Dr. Rohit Kohli, co-director of the fatty liver disease center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, if people are suffering from severe apnea, they should also be checked for fatty liver disease.
“If you have documented severe sleep apnea episodes during the night, you should be screened,” he said, “because we have enough evidence now from studies showing that one goes hand in hand with the other. And when you reverse one disease, it will probably help the other.”