BED and Sleep Disorders

People with obstructive sleep apnea have repeated interruptions of airflow for longer than 10 seconds during sleep. This leads to decreased oxyhemoglobin saturation and increased sleep disturbances. Some patients report choking and daytime sleepiness, fatigue, memory disturbances, and irritability.

Since sleep apnea is 25 times more common among obese persons, Dr. Orna Tzischinsky and colleagues wanted to see if obese persons with binge eating disorder (BED)might be at greater-than-normal risk for the disorder. The Israeli researchers compared obese patients with BED (BED), non-BED obese patients (OB), and normal-weight non-binging women (NW) using mini-actigraphs and self-report questionnaires. The actigraphs were used to monitor sleep-wake patterns.

The actigraphs revealed differences in the quality of sleep between BED and OB subjects compared to NW subjects. Among the BED and OB patients, the quality of sleep was significantly poorer and the patients had more complaints. Weight-related physical discomfort or breathing disorders during sleep are reported by about 30% of obese persons.