Sleep apnea has been associated with:

• accelerated coronary atherogenesis.
• precipitation of myocardial infarction.
• malignant cardiac dysrhythmias.
• systemic hypertension.
• pulmonary hypertension.
• left and right ventricular failure.

An estimated 50% of congestive heart failure patients and many patients with atrial fibrillation have central or mixed sleep apneas, often with a Cheyne-Stokes respiration pattern. Failure to control the sleep-related breathing problems can lessen the effectiveness of treatments for heart failure and result in accelerated deterioration of heart function.

Sleep apnea may worsen insulin resistance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Sleep apnea has been associated with low testosterone levels.

Sleep apnea can be worsened by testosterone administration even in testosterone-deficient individuals.

Sleep apnea is increased in prevalence in patients with acromegaly, Cushing's syndrome, hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus, and polycystic ovary syndrome. 

Sleep deprivation has adverse effects on endocrine function, glucose tolerance and body weight.

Sleep apnea has been associated with chronic liver injury with steatohepatitis  and elevated liver enzymes.

GE reflux tends to worsen markedly during sleep, particularly in regard to episode durations: as a consequence of recumbent posture, greatly reduced swallowing frequency, diminished awareness of episodes and (in many patients) due to aggravation by sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is associated with sleep-related GE reflux, and treatment of sleep apnea can improve GERD.

Daytime sleepiness has been identified as a major predictor of reduced lifespans and increased risk of cardiovascular disease in elderly women, who also were found in another study to have a higher mortality rate from sleep apnea than elderly men.

Many sedative hypnotics given widely to geriatric patients worsen sleep apnea, while increasing the risk of nocturnal confusion, sleepwalking and self-injury during sleep.

A significant number of patients seeking evaluation for possible Alzheimer's dementia instead suffer from reversible cognitive and memory difficulties arising from sleep apnea.

Treatment of sleep apnea has been found to improve cognition in some patients with Alzheimer's dementia.

The prevalence of sleep apnea increases with age and is particularly high in seniors.

Sleep apnea in the elderly is often not associated with a history of loud snoring.

Sleep apnea has been found in several studies in approximately 60% of male stroke victi
ms.

The prevalence of sleep apnea increases rapidly after menopause, a trend that is likely to be increased by avoidance of hormone replacement therapy.

Sleep-related breathing disorders are far more common in women than originally thought, and frequently take the form of upper airway resistance syndrome which is frequently found in individuals of normal body weight who do not snore excessively.

Some studies have found sleep-related breathing abnormalities in the majority of patients suffering from fibromyalgia: a condition more common in women.

Some women develop sleep apnea during pregnancies, necessitating a careful history.

Sleep apnea has been associated with thalassemia as a consequence of nasal obstruction arising from extramedullary hematopoiesis.

Lymphomas involving the upper airway can lead to sleep apnea.

Polycythemia has been identified in some patients with severe sleep apnea.

Treatment of anemia has been found to improve sleep apnea in congestive heart failure patients.

Studies have shown sleep apnea syndrome in 44%, insomnia in 41% and periodic limb movement syndrome in 34% of patients with kidney failure on maintenance dialysis.

Renal transplantation has been reported to eliminate sleep apnea in patients with kidney failure.

Acoustic reflectance studies found pharyngeal narrowing in kidney failure patients: a possible factor in the pathogenesis of sleep apnea.

Restless legs syndrome connected to sleep apnea is strongly associated with renal failure.

Sleep apnea was reported to be the cause of nocturia in 40% of men seeking help for that complaint: a phenomenon mediated by increased release of atrial natriuretic peptide.

Hypertension is a recognized complication of sleep apnea.

Reports have recommended assessment for sleep apnea in patients with kidney disease who are hypertensive.

Sleep apnea has been associated with microalbuminuria, and hypertensive sleep apnea patients have an increased prevalence of renal function abnormalities.

Sleep related seizures can result from the tendency (in many patients) for seizures to occur primarily during sleep, seizure precipitation by sleep-related cardiac dysrhythmia or breathing disorders, or a combination of both.

A significant number of patients seeking evaluation for possible Alzheimer's dementia instead suffer from reversible cognitive and memory difficulties arising from sleep apnea.

Treatment of sleep apnea has been found to improve cognition in some patients with Alzheimer's dementia.

Sleep apnea has been found in several studies in approximately 60% of male stroke victims.

Sleep apnea has been associated with a large number of neurologic disorders including myotonic dystrophy and other muscular dystrophies, syringobulbia, syringomyelia, Arnold-Chiaric malformation, poliomyelitis and post-polio syndrome, myopathies from various causes, spinocerebellar degeneration, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy, Shy-Drager Syndrome, Parkinson's disease, hypothalamic disorders, acromegaly, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth.

Cervical spine disease with brainstem compression can lead to sleep apnea.

Headaches from sleep are frequently a manifestation of sleep apnea . They can result from repetitive fluctuations in intrathoracic pressure during struggling to overcome upper airway obstruction.

Peripheral neuropathies can be associated with restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement syndrome associated with sleep apnea.

An association has been reported between sleep apnea and:

• glaucoma and optic nerve perfusion deficits.
• papilledema.
• pseudotumor cerebri.
• FloppyEyelid Syndrome.
• precipitation of visual loss in non-arteritic AION (Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy) patients, felt to be mediated by sleep-related hypotension. 
• Optic nerve disease has been linked to increased napping and sleep-wake cycle abnormalities.
• Aqueous humor flow decreases during sleep.
• Visually impaired seniors have been found to have a higher prevalence of sleep complaints.

Narrowing of the upper airway at any level and from any cause can increase the likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea.

Otolaryngologic surgical procedures appear of frequent benefit in pediatric sleep apnea.

Vertigo upon awakening and during sleep onset has been associated with sleep-related seizures, sleep apnea and migraine.

Some studies have found sleep-related breathing abnormalities in the majority of patients suffering from fibromyalgia.

Sleep apnea is worsened by a number of drugs commonly utilized in pain management, including those administered epidurally.

Many children with symptoms suggesting attention deficit disorder suffer from underlying sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and narcolepsy.

Children with sleep-related breathing disorders often suffer from upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) which can be readily missed by conventional sleep monitoring techniques. UARS frequently afflicts non-obese patients and in many cases is not associated with significant snoring.

Secondary enuresis (recurrent bedwetting) is a common manifestation of sleep apnea.

Sleepiness and/or sleep apnea can be associated with genetic disorders such as Down syndrome, Myotonic dystrophy, Prader-Willi syndrome, Niemann-Pick type C and  Fragile X syndrome.

Depression is commonly worsened by sleep apnea and other disorders of excessive sleepiness. Treatment of these conditions has been found to yield lasting improvement in depressive symptoms.

Sleep-related breathing problems have been associated with mood swings, Depression, irritability, impotence, dimished libido, anhedonia, paranoia, memory loss, cognitive dysfunction, delirium and marital and job-related problems.

Sleep apnea can be a trigger for panic attacks from sleep.

A significant number of adults with symptoms suggesting  attention deficit disorder suffer from underlying sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and narcolepsy.

Patients with symptoms of chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia have been found to have a significant prevalence of underlying sleep apnea and upper airway resistance syndrome.

Frequent nocturnal cough and asthmatic attacks are often triggered by sleep-related gastroesophageal reflux which in turn is associated with sleep apnea in many patients. Treatment of sleep apnea can help address both these problems.

Patients with both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sleep apnea are at greater risk of pulmonary hypertension, right heart failure and carbon dioxide retention than are patients with sleep apnea only.

A large percentage of patients with pulmonary fibrosis have been reported to be at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea.

Rheumatoid arthritis can lead to obstructive sleep apnea via temporomandibular joint destruction or Atlantoaxial Subluxation, with secondary narrowing of the upper airway.

Cervical spine disease with brainstem compression can lead to sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea was reported to be the cause of nocturia in 40% of men seeking help for that complaint.