Tech: Sleep Apnea Often Goes Undetected in Women. That’s Starting to Change
In midlife, women are told to expect disruption. Sleep may become lighter, nights can feel warmer, and energy harder to come by. Hormones shift, and the body adjusts. But for a large number of women, something else is happening as well: Their airway is collapsing dozens of times an hour while they sleep.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), once framed as a disorder primarily affecting older, heavier men, is increasingly recognized as a far more complex and often undetected condition, particularly in women navigating perimenopause and menopause.
OSA occurs when the upper airway narrows or collapses during sleep, oxygen levels dip, and the brain briefly rouses the body to restart breathing. For years it was framed as a single disorder with a familiar face. Now researchers understand it as far more complex: a heterogeneous condition shaped by different biological mechanisms and expressed through different symptom patterns. Yet the older, larger, male archetype still shapes who gets diagnosed and who doesn’t.
A recent projection in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal suggests the problem is far bigger—and more female—than once thought. Researchers estimate that by 2050 nearly 77 million US adults aged 30 to 69 will have OSA, including a 65 percent relative increase in prevalence among women, to around 30.4 million, compared with a 19 percent relative increase among men. The increase reflects aging populations and rising obesity, but hopefully also something more basic: better detection.
Carlos Nunez, chief medical officer at ResMed, which supported the analysis, explains that while over a billion people in the world have sleep apnea, in some countries as many as 90 percent are undiagnosed and untreated. “It is a condition that often lives in anonymity. Most people don't realize they have it, because you're asleep when it happens,” he says.
Although OSA can appear at any age—even in children—risk rises, as declining muscle tone makes it harder for the airway to stay
