The Connection Between Genetics and Sleep Apnea

Millions of Americans have sleep apnea—a chronic disorder that causes you to stop breathing in your sleep. There are various risk factors that can lead to sleep apnea, including obesity and smoking, but genetics may also play a role.

In extremely rare cases, central sleep apnea can be linked to genetics, but genes are a much more common culprit in obstructive sleep apnea. Some studies estimate that nearly 75% of people with obstructive sleep apnea inherited the disorder in some way.

This article with explore the different types of sleep apnea, how genetics may be involved, and what to expect with a sleep apnea diagnosis.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a chronic condition where your breathing is interrupted as you sleep. These disruptions can last for 10 seconds or more, and occur several times an hour. In severe cases of sleep apnea, your breathing could stop hundreds of times in a single night.

Symptoms

The main symptom of sleep apnea is a pause in your breathing during sleep. However, there are a number of other issues that can signal this disorder as well, including:

• Snoring
• Choking or gasping sounds
• Frequent waking at night
• A dry mouth when you wake up
• Morning headaches
• Difficulty concentrating
• Daytime sleepiness
• Mood changes or depression

Diagnosis

A sleep apnea diagnosis is usually made with a sleep study. In this study, called a polysomnograph, you will need to spend several hours asleep in a lab while different measurements of your health are taken. Your heart rate, movements, and breathing patterns will all be observed, and your healthcare provider will use this information to diagnose and rate your level of sleep apnea.

These tests can also provide clues as to what type of sleep apnea you have. Testing your brain waves and nerve signals during your sleep study can identify central sleep apnea.

Is Sleep Apnea Hereditary?

Genetics can play a role in some types of sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea usually has non-genetic causes that are not hereditary. Obstructive sleep apnea, on the other hand, can be linked to genetics in several ways.

Central Sleep Apnea

Central sleep apnea is usually a direct result of signal interruptions that are sent to your respiratory system to take breaths while you sleep. There is a rare type of central sleep apnea, called Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS) that is genetic, but in most cases, this type of sleep apnea is caused by other factors like:

• Narcotics or other drug use
• Head trauma
• Brain tumors
• Stroke
• Heart conditions
• Neuromuscular disease
• Altitude

Some of these things, like heart conditions and neuromuscular disease, can be inherited, but sleep apnea itself isn't caused by a particular gene with these conditions.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Unlike central sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea is linked to genetics in several ways.

First, many of the risk factors that can lead to sleep apnea—like high blood pressure and heart disease—carry a hereditary component to them. If you have a family history of conditions that increase your risk for sleep apnea, you should talk to your healthcare provider about any symptoms you might be having.

On top of an increased risk from these inherited conditions, there are also specific genes that have been linked to the development of sleep apnea. These include:

• Angiopoietin-2 gene (ANGPT2)
• −308G/A polymorphism of the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα)
• Prostaglandin E2 receptor EP3 subtype (PTGER3)
• Lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 (LPAR1)
• G-protein receptor gene (GPR83)
• β-arrestin 1 gene (ARRB1)
• Dopamine receptor D1 encoding gene (DRD1)
• Serotonin receptor encoding gene (HTR2A)
  

Other Causes

Even though some cases of obstructive sleep apnea are hereditary, genetics are not the only cause. Other causes of sleep apnea include:

• Obesity
• Prematurity
• Endocrine disorders
• Neuromuscular conditions
• Heart failure
• Kidney disease
• Enlarged tonsils
• Abnormal physical structures in the mouth or throat

Risk Factors

Even without a structural or genetic condition, there are other disorders or diseases that can increase your risk of developing sleep apnea. More than 80% of people with sleep apnea have other medical conditions like:

• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)
• Metabolic syndrome
• Diabetes
• COPD
• Asthma
• Kidney disease

Lifestyle choices can also put you at risk of developing sleep apnea. Some of these include:

• Smoking
• Poor diet
• Lack of exercise
• Obesity

Prevention

While you can't control the genetic predisposition to sleep apnea, you can make choices that can help you avoid developing conditions that increase your risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), like obesity and high blood pressure.

Some of the things you can do to reduce your risk of developing sleep apnea include:

• Avoid alcohol
• Don't use sleep medications or muscle relaxers
• Quit smoking
• Lose weight
• Exercise
• Sleep on your side instead of your back

A Word From Verywell

There are many types of sleep disorders—and all kinds of diseases that are inherited by genes passed down through families. You can inherit sleep apnea, or a condition that can increase your risk of developing sleep apnea. Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about your personal and family medical history, as well as your sleep and other lifestyle habits.