Researchers have conducted the first high-quality, randomised trial comparing the effect on obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) of surgical and medically-supervised weight loss in severely obese individuals.
Participants for the study were recruited from sleep centres where they had been recently diagnosed with moderate to severe OSA and all had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of between 35 and 55. The study focused on two groups divided into surgical and conventional weight loss, who were followed up every four to six weeks for two years.
The results showed negligible statistical advantage of bariatric surgery for treating OSA.
OSA is a condition affecting just under 5% of the Australian population, in which a person stops breathing for periods of time during their normal sleep cycle, thought in some patients to be caused by obesity.
Read more at Monash University