Editing Sleep apnea (section)

==Prognosis==
Death could occur from untreated OSA due to lack of oxygen to the body.<ref name=AHRQ2011>{{cite web|url=https://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/search-for-guides-reviews-and-reports/?pageaction=displayproduct&productid=731|title=Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults|publisher=AHRQ Effective Health Care Program|date=8 August 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231230122/https://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/search-for-guides-reviews-and-reports/?pageaction=displayproduct&productid=731|archive-date=31 December 2016}}. A [https://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/ehc/products/117/1534/sleep-apnea-surveillance-130502.pdf 2012 surveillance update] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125113854/http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/ehc/products/117/1534/sleep-apnea-surveillance-130502.pdf |date=25 January 2017 }} found no significant information to update.</ref>

There is increasing evidence that sleep apnea may lead to liver function impairment, particularly [[fatty liver]] diseases (see [[steatosis]]).<ref name="aloiaetal">{{cite journal | vauthors = Aloia MS, Sweet LH, Jerskey BA, Zimmerman M, Arnedt JT, Millman RP | title = Treatment effects on brain activity during a working memory task in obstructive sleep apnea | journal = Journal of Sleep Research | volume = 18 | issue = 4 | pages = 404–10 | date = December 2009 | pmid = 19765205 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2009.00755.x | hdl = 2027.42/73986 | s2cid = 15806274 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="apnea">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ahmed MH, Byrne CD | title = Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and fatty liver: association or causal link? | journal = World Journal of Gastroenterology | volume = 16 | issue = 34 | pages = 4243–52 | date = September 2010 | pmid = 20818807 | pmc = 2937104 | doi = 10.3748/wjg.v16.i34.4243 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="apnea2">{{cite journal | vauthors = Singh H, Pollock R, Uhanova J, Kryger M, Hawkins K, Minuk GY | title = Symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease | journal = Digestive Diseases and Sciences | volume = 50 | issue = 12 | pages = 2338–43 | date = December 2005 | pmid = 16416185 | doi = 10.1007/s10620-005-3058-y | s2cid = 21852391 }}</ref><ref name="apnea3">{{cite journal | vauthors = Tanné F, Gagnadoux F, Chazouillères O, Fleury B, Wendum D, Lasnier E, Lebeau B, Poupon R, Serfaty L | title = Chronic liver injury during obstructive sleep apnea | journal = Hepatology | volume = 41 | issue = 6 | pages = 1290–6 | date = June 2005 | pmid = 15915459 | doi = 10.1002/hep.20725 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

It has been revealed that people with OSA show tissue loss in brain regions that help store memory, thus linking OSA with memory loss.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kumar R, Birrer BV, Macey PM, Woo MA, Gupta RK, Yan-Go FL, Harper RM | title = Reduced mammillary body volume in patients with obstructive sleep apnea | journal = Neuroscience Letters | volume = 438 | issue = 3 | pages = 330–4 | date = June 2008 | pmid = 18486338 | doi = 10.1016/j.neulet.2008.04.071 | s2cid = 207126691 }}</ref> Using [[magnetic resonance imaging]] (MRI), the scientists discovered that people with sleep apnea have [[mammillary bodies]] that are about 20% smaller, particularly on the left side. One of the key investigators hypothesized that repeated drops in oxygen lead to the brain injury.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kumar R, Birrer BV, Macey PM, Woo MA, Gupta RK, Yan-Go FL, Harper RM | title = Reduced mammillary body volume in patients with obstructive sleep apnea | journal = Neuroscience Letters | volume = 438 | issue = 3 | pages = 330–4 | date = June 2008 | pmid = 18486338 | doi = 10.1016/j.neulet.2008.04.071 | s2cid = 207126691 | url = http://newswise.com/articles/view/541519/ | url-access = subscription | access-date = 12 June 2008 | archive-date = 15 June 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080615014142/http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/541519/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

The immediate effects of central sleep apnea on the body depend on how long the failure to breathe endures. At worst, central sleep apnea may cause sudden death. Short of death, drops in blood oxygen may trigger [[seizure]]s, even in the absence of [[epilepsy]]. In people ''with'' epilepsy, the hypoxia caused by apnea may trigger seizures that had previously been well controlled by medications.<ref name="Epilepsy and sleep apnea syndrome">{{cite journal |vauthors=Devinsky O, Ehrenberg B, Barthlen GM, Abramson HS, Luciano D |date=November 1994 |title=Epilepsy and sleep apnea syndrome |journal=Neurology |volume=44 |issue=11 |pages=2060–4 |doi=10.1212/WNL.44.11.2060 |pmid=7969960 |s2cid=2165184}}</ref> In other words, a seizure disorder may become unstable in the presence of sleep apnea. In adults with [[coronary artery disease]], a severe drop in blood oxygen level can cause [[angina]], [[Heart arrhythmia|arrhythmia]]s, or heart attacks ([[myocardial infarction]]). Longstanding recurrent episodes of apnea, over months and years, may cause an increase in carbon dioxide levels that can change the pH of the blood enough to cause a [[respiratory acidosis]].{{medical citation needed|data=February 2024|date=February 2024}}