Can Asbestos Cause Sleep Apnea?

Asbestosis and Mesothelioma 

If you are at risk of exposure to asbestos, you may have asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. Asbestosis is non-cancerous and not life threatening. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer without any cure.

Asbestos is a common illness caused by asbestos exposure

If you have asbestosis, your quality of life suffers because you damage your lungs with scarring. This makes the lungs work more to draw oxygen. You will experience shortness of breath, bronchitis, or chronic cough.

Mesothelioma is a cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure

If you have mesothelioma, you have a cancer that affects the membrane surrounding the lung or the stomach. Mesothelioma is one of the deadliest cancers that you can suffer from. 

With exposure to asbestos, you can get lung cancer that affects the lung tissue. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), cancers of rectum, colon, stomach, larynx, and pharynx could result from exposure to asbestos. 

Other asbestos-related illnesses

You can suffer from other diseases from exposure to asbestos. These include pleural plaques, in which the lining surrounding the lungs develop scars. These do not show symptoms. In fact, an X-ray can detect this disease, and this is sufficient proof that you have suffered an exposure to asbestos. 

The main problem with asbestos-related disease is the length of time it takes to present itself. When you are diagnosed with the disease, it may be too late for treatment. This is especially true with cancers.

Why Do You Say Exposure To Asbestos Is A Cause Of Sleep Apnea?

Medical research does not show that exposure to asbestos causes sleep apnea. 

However, the secondary effects of asbestos-related diseases can certainly cause sleeping and breathing disorders like sleep apnea. 

Studies show asbestos exposure can lead to breathing problems:

• One study showed asbestos exposure could cause symptoms of asthma. However, some patients were also exposed to other dusts not related to asbestos, so the evidence is not conclusive.

• Asbestos exposure is a risk factor for bronchial asthma.

• Asbestos exposure may block the airways. 

Because sleep apnea and breathing are so closely related, it is possible that any breathing health conditions caused by asbestos could pose secondary health issues, including sleep apnea.

Why Do Some People Confuse Sleep Apnea With Asbestosis?

It is possible to misdiagnose asbestosis and sleep apnea, because their symptoms can be similar. A wrong diagnosis can lead to problems, especially because the two conditions involved different treatments.

But currently, the military does not consider exposure to asbestos a cause of sleep apnea. If the doctor diagnoses asbestosis as sleep apnea, then the military will not give benefits for a veteran’s sleep apnea condition.

Sleep apnea may be a secondary condition of an asbestos-related illness

However, it is possible that eventually, the courts may accept sleep apnea as a secondary condition. This would mean that the courts are recognizing a link between asbestos-related diseases, such as asbestosis, and sleep apnea.

Professor Roger K. A. Allen at the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Queensland, Australia has worked with approximately 300 patients at the Wesley Hospital. He found that about 100 of them suffered from obstructive sleep apnea. 

Dr. Allen stated that “[a]lthough this is a common condition, asbestos diseases may precipitate the obstructive sleep apnea by causing weight gain as a result of reduced physical activity, exertional dyspnea and chest pain.” 

“In my experience of over 20 years of seeing patients with asbestos diseases and also in my capacity [as] a sleep physician, I frequently diagnose sleep apnea in patients with asbestos disease which has either occurred as a result of weight gain or been aggravated by significant weight gain,” he further added.

On mesothelioma, the professor said, “Patients with mesothelioma always have reduced lung and chest wall compliance as a result of growth of the tumor and this therefore may precipitate or aggravate coexisting obstructive sleep apnea.”

From the above discussion, you can consider that sleep apnea could be an asbestos-related disease. Even if it is not an asbestos-related disease, it could be a secondary condition caused by an asbestos-related disease, such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, or pleural plaques.