Sleep Apnea - Medical Conditions that Causes Secondary Sleep Disorders

Some medical conditions can actually cause secondary sleep disorders. Aside from that, prescription medications used to treat your underlying medical conditions will cause you to develop secondary sleeping disorders. Such medical conditions would include gastroesophageal reflux disease, endocrine problems, cardiovascular diseases, kidney disorders, neurological problems and mental disorders, bone and joint problems such as arthritis, and respiratory problems.

Problems in the cardiovascular system can lead to sleeping disorders. These cardiovascular diseases would include congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease. In coronary artery disease, fat deposits accumulate in the walls of the blood vessels. These fat deposits are called as atheromas; thus, the condition being called as atherosclerosis. This condition would cause impeded blood circulation which leads to coronary artery disease. This condition would often lead to sleeping disorders such as sleep apnea. As for congestive heart failure, the patient’s heart is congested due to its inability to supply the requirements needed by the body; therefore, the heart’s workload is increased making it congested. Organs such as the kidney and the lungs are also greatly affected. Because of these conditions, the patient has a greater risk of developing sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea.

Endocrine disorders such as thyroid gland problems and diabetes may also cause secondary sleeping disorders. In general, Diabetes can be considered as a multisystem disorder because it has a big impact on different body processes. Such processes would include metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Usually, restless leg syndrome is the sleeping disorder that occurs in people with diabetes. On the other hand, the thyroid gland is responsible for regulating the hormones that affect the level of energy in a person. Once the thyroid gland function is disrupted, major problems will likely occur. If there is an excessive secretion of hormones by the thyroid gland, the person would have episodes of waking up in the wee hours due to night sweats and will also have sleeping difficulties.

Aside from endocrine disorders, problems in the neurologic system can also lead to development of secondary sleeping disorders. Such neurologic problems would include epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease. Dementia and normal functioning is common among people with Alzheimer’s disease. Sleep fragmentation can also occur among people with Alzheimer’s disease. On the other hand, epilepsy is caused by electrical activities in the brain. Epileptic patients are at a greater risk to develop sleep disorder insomnia. As for Parkinson’s disease, it is a dysfunction in the central nervous system. People with Parkinson’s disease have motor problems and usually they suffer from tremors, muscle stiffness, posture problems, shuffling gait, and other normal activities. Aside from these motor problems, people with Parkinson’s disease are also predisposed to REM sleep behavior disorder and sleep onset insomnia.

Those who have respiratory problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma are also predisposed to various sleeping disorders. Asthmatic patients have difficulties in breathing due to increased mucus production that causes airway obstruction as well as constriction and inflammation of the airway passages. Damage in the lungs that leads to difficulty in breathing is present in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The most common sleeping disorder that these people develop are sleep fragmentation and often times, insomnia.

Mental problems such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, and seasonal affective disorders are also prone to develop sleeping problems. These sleeping disorders would include sleep fragmentation and insomnia.

A condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is present among people who frequently experience acid reflux. Usually, the food that was previously ingested would regurgitate causing damage to the mucosal linings of the esophagus. For GERD, sleep fragmentation is likely to happen.

Problems in kidney functioning is troublesome because waste products are not eliminated. There will also be imbalances in the salt levels and water levels leading to serious problems like edema. Restless leg syndrome and insomnia are common among these people.

It is very evident that people with bone and joint problems are suffering from insomnia due to the fact that they are experiencing pain. An example of joint problem would be arthritis.

Secondary sleeping disorder is the term that is used to describe people who have sleep disorders caused by underlying medical conditions. When this happens, the best way would be to treat the medical condition first prior to treating the sleeping disorder itself.