Sleep apnea causes
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Saarah T. Alkhairy, M.D.
Overview
Sleep apnea may be commonly caused by a large neck/abodminal circumference (e.g. obese individuals), administration of medications, diseases that narrow the respiratory airways (e.g. enlarged adenoids, enlarged tonsils), diseases that affect the central nervous system (e.g. cerebrovascular accident, spinal cord injury), or infectious diseases (e.g. polio).
Causes
Life Threatening Causes
Life-threatening causes include conditions which may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.
- Cerebrovascular accident
- Obesity hypoventilation syndrome
- Opioid overdose
- Post-polio syndrome
- Postoperative complication
- Spinal cord injury
Common Causes
- Common cold
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Enlarged adenoids
- Enlarged tonsils
- Hypothyroidism
- Obesity
- Opioid overdose
- Postoperative complication
- Sinusitis
- Tonsilitis
Causes by Organ Systems
| Cardiovascular | No underlying causes |
| Chemical/Poisoning | No underlying causes |
| Dental | No underlying causes |
| Dermatologic | No underlying causes |
| Drug Side Effect | Elosulfase alfa, galsulfase, laronidase |
| Ear Nose Throat | Enlarged adenoids, enlarged tonsils, malformations of the nose, malformations of the throat |
| Endocrine | Diabetic neuropathy, hypothyroidism |
| Environmental | No underlying causes |
| Gastroenterologic | Gastroesophageal reflux |
| Genetic | Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Hallermann-Streiff syndrome, Joubert syndrome, Marfan syndrome, muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy, Potocki-Lupski syndrome, WAGR syndrome |
| Hematologic | No underlying causes |
| Iatrogenic | Postoperative complication |
| Infectious Disease | Common cold, meningoencephalitis, post-polio syndrome, sinusitis, tonsilitis |
| Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic | Muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy |
| Neurologic | Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Arnold-Chiari malformation, cerebrovascular accident, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, diabetic neuropathy, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, Joubert syndrome, multiple system atrophy, post-polio syndrome, spinal cord injury |
| Nutritional/Metabolic | Hurler syndrome, metabolic syndrome, obesity, Pompe disease |
| Obstetric/Gynecologic | No underlying causes |
| Oncologic | No underlying causes |
| Ophthalmologic | No underlying causes |
| Overdose/Toxicity | Alcohol intoxication, opioid overdose |
| Psychiatric | No underlying causes |
| Pulmonary | Obesity hypoventilation syndrome |
| Renal/Electrolyte | Chronic kidney disease |
| Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy | No underlying causes |
| Sexual | No underlying causes |
| Trauma | Spinal cord injury |
| Urologic | No underlying causes |
| Miscellaneous | No underlying causes |
Causes in Alphabetical Order
References
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