Sleep Disorders and Cardio-Renal Disease: Implications for Minority Populations

Obesity is a major public health problem that is reaching pandemic proportion. Currently two thirds of the American population is either overweight or obese and worldwide, 39% of the population is overweight and 13% are considered obese [1,2]. This rapid rise in obesity is associated with increased in diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2), hypertension (HTN), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), the major killer of adults in the USA. Parallel to this epidemic is the rapid rise of sleep disorders such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). These disorders lead to increased morbidity and mortality and generally go undiagnosed and undertreated, particularly among minority groups. Accumulating evidence indicates common pathophysiologic background underlying all of these related disorders. Among these include: increased inflammation, increased oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, dyslipidemia and hypercoagulability. We discuss the rising epidemic of sleep disorders and its interrelationship with DM2, HTN, CVD and renal disease highlighting the racial disparity in diagnosis and treatment of these disorders that disproportionately affects minority populations. We also discuss the various treatment modalities and the cutting edge developments in this field.