SATURDAY, Oct. 7, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- High blood pressure is common in people with sleep apnea, says a study that examined rates of high blood pressure and sleep apnea in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
The study of more than 720,000 adults defined the severity of CKD by the presence of protein in urine (proteinuria) and reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR), a measurement of the kidney's ability to remove wastes and fluid from the body and regulate blood levels of compounds such as sodium, potassium, phosphorus and calcium.
The study found that:
Hypertension is common in people with sleep apnea, whether or not they have CKD, the researchers concluded. They noted that rates of hypertension increase when CKD and sleep apnea are both present in patients with normal GFR who have proteinuria. They also noted that rates of hypertension increase as kidney function declines.
The study was to be presented Oct. 7 at an American Heart Association meeting in San Antonio.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about chronic kidney disease.