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According to a Brazilian study published in the journal Chest, people with sleep apnea see their condition worsen during the winter months.

Sleep apnea can be caused by seasonal allergies and change in body weight and researchers set out to find out if the time of year has anything to do with the disorder.

Researchers used data from over 7,500 patients over a 10 year period and observed the number of times sleep was interrupted by disturbance in breathing. Humidity, temperature and air pollution at the time of the study were factored and researchers noted that patients who were exposed to high pressure and humidity and high levels of carbon monoxide suffered to severe cases of sleep apnea.

"More sleep disordered breathing events were recorded in wintertime than in other seasons," wrote study leader Cristiane Maria Cassol from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.

According to the study, patients had breaks in their breathing an average of 18 times per hour during the winter months. That's compared to 15 times per hour during the summer time. About 34 percent of patients who came in during cold weather had severe apnea, compared to 28 percent of patients during warmer weather.

Although the findings were noteworthy, researchers say they could not determine whether it was the weather itself that was responsible for the more severe apneas.

Jerome Dempsey, who studies breathing problems at the University of Wisconsin and wasn't involved in the study, said it makes sense that airway infections and weather could have an effect on sleep apnea, but that the changes across the seasons were small.

"There are so many things that affect sleep apnea, including the decision of when to come visit a sleep clinic," Dempsey told Reuters Health.

Dempsey also said that while winter-related conditions such as colds or allergies might intensify sleep apnea, the biggest risk factor is obesity.

SOURCE: bit.ly/MqNmmE