Sleep Apnea Data from Multiple Nights is Key to Predicting Hypertension and Cardiovascular Risk

Several new, large-scale studies from the Flinders Medical Research Institute (FHMRI) in Australia found studying sleep in real-world settings over multiple nights can greatly reduce the high 30% error rate of sleep apnea diagnosis from polysomnography (PSG), the traditional, single night, in hospital gold standard technique. Using Withings Sleep Analyzer, researchers were able to easily track multiple biomarkers for participants over time revealing large variability in sleep indicators from night to night.

1, 2, 3, 4

Withings under-the-mattress sleep trackers have enabled researchers to study large groups over time. The FHMRI studies tracked 67,278 and 12,287 participants respectively over a total of 11 million nights, a feat not feasible with traditional polysomnography.

A key finding from the study of 12,000 users is the variability in the severity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) from night to night. The variability of OSA, independent of severity, is associated with uncontrolled hypertension which is the leading cardiovascular risk factor. Sleep Analyzer also reveals other risks associated with hypertension, such as snoring, irregular waking and sleep hours, and duration of sleep.

Using the same hardware technology as Withings Sleep Analyzer, Sleep Rx is a noninvasive, at home device that users place under their mattresses to gather biomarkers such as heart rate, respiratory rate, snoring, sleep cycles, and the Withings Sleep Index, a measure of breathing events per hour, which can aid in the diagnosis of sleep apnea. Using this simple device for at least 14 nights gives a much clearer picture of sleep quality.

The multi-night Sleep Rx data can be used to predict the right patients at the right time for in hospital PSG. Better identification of patients who most need PSG will reduce overall spending on the costly tests and ease scheduling difficulties.

Sleep Rx offers an inexpensive, easy to use method to better target high risk cardiovascular patients, reduce the high error rate of sleep apnea diagnosis, and efficiently gather longitudinal, large-scale sleep data for a variety of chronic diseases. For more information about the Withings Sleep Rx, click here.

1 Lechat, Bastien et al. “Multinight Prevalence, Variability, and Diagnostic Misclassification of Obstructive Sleep Apnea.” American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine vol. 205,5 (2022): 563-569. doi:10.1164/rccm.202107-1761OC

2 Lechat, Bastien et al. “High night-to-night variability in sleep apnea severity is associated with uncontrolled hypertension.” NPJ digital medicine vol. 6,1 57. 30 Mar. 2023, doi:10.1038/s41746-023-00801-2

3 Lechat, Bastien et al. “Regular snoring is associated with uncontrolled hypertension.” NPJ digital medicine vol. 7,1 38. 17 Feb. 2024, doi:10.1038/s41746-024-01026-7

4 Scott, Hannah et al. “Sleep Irregularity Is Associated With Hypertension: Findings From Over 2 Million Nights With a Large Global Population Sample.” Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979) vol. 80,5 (2023): 1117-1126. doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.20513

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