A long-term study by doctors at Tri-Service General Hospital in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) has linked chronic insomnia to higher risk of heart failure, Wang Yi-to (王一多), a doctor of thoracic medicine, said on Friday.
Although previous research suggests that sleep apnea is highly correlated to heart failure, the hospital’s research team is interested in a possible correlation between heart failure and sleep disorders other than sleep apnea, such as sleepwalking and insomnia, Wang said.
The researchers used National Health Insurance data to track the health of 20,985 people who experience insomnia over 13 years, he said.
Only those with no history of heart failure or sleep apnea were tracked, he said.
The researchers found that heart failure was reported in 3,498 people, or about 17 percent, he said.
About 40 percent of those in the study who had heart failure were under 50, while more women were affected than men, he said.
People with seven years of medically diagnosed insomnia were 20 percent more likely to experience heart failure than the average person, while people with simple insomnia were 36 percent more likely to experience heart failure than those with other sleep disorders, Wang said.
Sleep disorders could have an adverse effect on the hypothalamus — the region of the brain that regulates heart rate and cardiovascular activity — which causes cardiovascular distress, he said.
The research is corroborated, as medical literature does suggest a link between sleep disorders, heightened blood pressure and diabetes, but a precise mechanism linking sleep disorders to heart failure remains unexplained, he said.
An estimated 25 percent of Taiwanese has a sleep disorder, with about 20 percent of men and 30 percent of women affected, he said.
Insomnia is defined by the Taiwan Society of Sleep Medicine as having difficulty falling to sleep after being in bed for more than 30 minutes, or waking before full rest three times or more per week in three consecutive months.
People with those symptoms should seek medical assistance, the society said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS