Sleep apnea, a disorder characterized by interrupted breathing during sleep, may increase the chance of chronic disease and even death, say researchers at Johns Hopkins University, according to Reuters. The authors of the study, published in PLoS Medicine, followed more than 6,400 men and women between the ages of 40 and 70 for about eight years. Their findings suggest that those with severe sleep apnea face a 46 percent greater risk of dying early than those without sleep breathing problems, according to Reuters. Men with severe sleep apnea saw their risk of dying more than double; they were also at greater risk of cardiovascular disease. People with mild sleep apnea did not face a greater risk of premature death, researchers found.

The latest study is the largest to date to look at sleep apnea and the risk of death. Last year, Australian researchers reported similar findings in the journal Sleep after studying 380 adults.

路透社报道，约翰·霍普金斯大学的研究人员发现，一种以睡眠时呼吸中断为特征的机能失调，即"睡眠呼吸暂停",会使人增加罹患慢性病的几率，严重时甚至会导致死亡。该课题研究人员在《公共图书馆药学杂志》上发表了这份报告。8年来，总共有6400人接受了这项研究，他们的年龄均在40岁至70岁之间。研究表明，严重"睡眠呼吸暂停"患者较无此症状者早亡的几率高46%,其中男性患者死亡的概率更是高达两倍。同时，他们还更容易罹患心血管疾病。不过研究者发现，轻度"睡眠呼吸暂停症"患者并没有太大的危险。

这份报告是关于"睡眠呼吸暂停症"及其引致的死亡的最新研究成果。去年，澳大利亚科研人员在对380名成年人研究后，就曾在《睡眠》杂志上报道过与此类似的研究成果。