Climate change linked to dangerous sleep apnea

Flinders University

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Caption: Higher temperatures linked to likelihood of a sleeper experiencing OSA

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Credit: Flinders University

Sleep apnea will become more common and more severe due to global warming, leading to increased health and economic burdens across the globe, warn Flinders University sleep experts.

A new study, published in leading journal, Nature Communications, found that rising temperatures increase the severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and that under the most likely climate change scenarios, the societal burden of OSA is expected to double in most countries over the next 75 years.

Lead author and sleep expert, Dr Bastien Lechat, from FHMRI Sleep Health says this is the first study of its kind to outline how global warming is expected to affect breathing during sleep and impact the world’s health, wellbeing and economy.

“This study helps us to understand how environmental factors like climate might affect health by investigating whether ambient temperatures influence the severity of OSA,” says Dr Lechat.

“Overall, we were surprised by the magnitude of the association between ambient temperature and OSA severity.

“Higher temperatures were associated with a 45 per cent increased likelihood of a sleeper experiencing OSA on a given night.

“Importantly, these findings varied by region, with people in European countries seeing higher rates of OSA when temperatures rise than those in Australia and the United States, perhaps due to different rates of air conditioning usage.”

Sleep apnoea – a condition that disturbs breathing during sleep – affects almost 1 billion people globally and, if untreated or severe, increases the risk of dementia and Parkinson’s disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, anxiety and depression, reduced quality of life, traffic accidents and all-cause mortality, previous research has found.

In Australia alone, the economic cost associated with poor sleep including sleep disorders like OSA has been estimated at $66 billion a year.

The study analysed sleep data from over 116,000 people globally using an FDA-cleared under-mattress sensor to estimate the severity of OSA.

For each user, the sensor recorded around 500 separate nights of data. The researchers then matched this sleep data with detailed 24-hour temperature information sourced from climate models.

They conducted health economics modeling using disability adjusted life years, a measure employed by the World Health Organization that captures the combined impact of illness, injury, and premature mortality, to quantify the wellbeing and societal burden due to increased prevalence of OSA from rising temperatures under several projected climate scenarios.

“Using our modelling, we can estimate how burdensome the increase in OSA prevalence due to rising temperature is to society in terms of wellbeing and economic loss,” says Dr Lechat.

“The increase in OSA prevalence in 2023 due to global warming was associated with a loss of approximately 800,000 healthy life years across the 29 countries studied.

“This number is similar to other medical conditions, such as bipolar disorder, Parkinson’s disease or chronic kidney diseases.”

Similarly, the estimated total economic cost associated was ~98 billion USD, including 68 billion USD from wellbeing loss and 30 billion USD from workplace productivity loss (missing work or being less productive at work).

“Our findings highlight that without greater policy action to slow global warming, OSA burden may double by 2100 due to rising temperatures.”

Senior researcher on the paper, Professor Danny Eckert, says that while the study is one of the largest of its kind, it was skewed towards high socio-economics countries and individuals, likely to have access to more favourable sleeping environments and air conditioning.

“This may have biased our estimates and led to an under-estimation of the true health and economic cost,” says Professor Eckert

In addition to providing further evidence of the major threat of climate change to human health and wellbeing, the study highlights the importance of developing effective interventions to diagnose and manage OSA.

“Higher rates of diagnosis and treatment will help us to manage and reduce the adverse health and productivity issues caused by climate related OSA,” says Professor Eckert.

“Going forward, we want to design intervention studies that explore strategies to reduce the impact of ambient temperatures on sleep apnea severity as well as investigate the underlying physiological mechanisms that connect temperature fluctuations to OSA severity.”

The article, ‘ Global warming may increase the burden of obstructive sleep apnea’ by Bastien Lechat (Flinders University), Jack Manners (Flinders), Lucía Pinilla (Flinders) Amy Reynolds (Flinders), Hannah Scott (Flinders), Daniel Vena (Harvard Medical School), Sebastien Bailly (Univ. Grenoble Alpes), Josh Fitton (Flinders), Barbara Toson (Flinders), Billingsley Kaambwa (Flinders), Robert Adams (Flinders), Jean-Louis Pepin (Univ. Grenoble Alpes), Pierre Escourrou (Centre Interdisciplinaire du Sommeil), Peter Catcheside (Flinders), and Danny J Eckert (Flinders), has been published in the journal Nature Communications. First published 16 June DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60218-1.

These findings were presented at the ATS 2025 International Conference prior to being journal peer reviewed.

Acknowledgments: Dr Lechat and Professor Eckert are supported by National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia Fellowships.

 

 

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-025-60218-1 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Global warming may increase the burden of obstructive sleep apneaby

Article Publication Date

16-Jun-2025

COI Statement

Competing interests P.E. serves as a consultant for Withings. Outside the submitted work, B.L. has had research grants from Withings, Medical Research Future Fund and NHMRC. Outside the submitted work, D.J.E. has had research grants from Bayer, Apnimed, Takeda, Invicta Medical, Eli Lilly and Withings. D.J.E. currently serves as a scientific advisor/consultant for Apnimed, Invicta Medical, Takeda, SleepRes and Mosanna. A.C.R. has received research funding from the Lifetime Support Authority, Sleep Health Foundation, Flinders Foundation, Medical Research Future Fund, NHMRC, the Hospital Research Foundation, Compumedics, and Sydney Trains, and speaker and consultancy fees from Teva Pharmaceuticals, Sealy Australia, and the Sleep Health Foundation for work unrelated to this study. H.S. reports consultancy and/or research support from Re- Time Pty Ltd, Compumedics Ltd, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation, and Flinders University. R.J.A. reports research support from the NHMRC, Flinders Foundation, the Hospital Research Foundation, Big Health, Philips Respironics, ResMed Foundation, Flinders University, Sydney Trains and, and speaker and consultancy fees from SomnoMed. P.C. reports grants from NHMRC, Medical Research Future Fund, Flinders Foundation, Invicta Medical, Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation, Defence Science and Technology Group. None of the other authors have any potential conflicts to declare.

 

The sources of light pollution

Ruhr-University Bochum

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Citizen Scientists counted and classified lights using a specially developed app.

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Credit: © Steffen Lohse-Koch

22 square kilometers charted

“Our participants created a complete lighting survey for public spaces with a total surface area of about 22 square kilometers,” Kyba says proudly. After co-developing the “Nachtlichter” app (“nightlights”), they counted and classified almost a quarter million light sources. In addition to the type of lighting, they documented additional information such as the level of shielding or size of the source. The counting campaigns took place in 33 municipalities in pre-defined areas that match the footprint of a night-time light observation satellite. The areas included city centers, residential neighborhoods, and urban locations that are commercial or industrial in character.

Signs and shop windows

“By comparing these data with the satellite observations, we identified a correlation between the number of counted lights per square kilometer and the radiance observed by the satellite sensor,” says Kyba. “By scaling our results up to cover all of Germany, we estimate that just over one light per person stays on after midnight.” Streetlights are in the minority: In heavily developed areas, there is about one illuminated sign and one illuminated shop window for each streetlight. The group also learned that private lighting is very important. Private windows were the most frequently observed light source by far, even after midnight. Other light sources, such as bright floodlights and illuminated doorbells to decorative lights in yards and gardens, made up about a quarter of the lights observed.

“These results show significant potential for future light and energy savings in German municipalities,” says Kyba. “Both energy and lighting policy as well as research on the effects of artificial light on the environment have generally focused on street lighting. Our findings indicate that a broader approach that considers all lighting is necessary in order to understand and reduce the environmental impacts of light in cities.”

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Journal

Nature Cities

DOI

10.1038/s44284-025-00239-5 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Citizen science illuminates the nature of city lights

International comparison reveals gender differences in antimicrobial resistance

University of Turku

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A recent study led by the University of Turku, Finland, analysed the DNA map of more than 14,000 gut metagenomes in a global dataset and found that there are differences in antibiotic resistance between genders. In high-income countries, women had more antibiotic resistance genes than men.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious global health threats. Antibiotic resistance causes antibiotics to lose their effectiveness, which can make it difficult or in some cases impossible to treat bacterial infections. The resistance is estimated to cause more than 1.3 million deaths annually, and the number is growing rapidly.

This recent study is the first to examine the differences of antibiotic resistance between the genders in a large international dataset.

Researchers at the University of Turku analysed a global dataset of 14,641 publicly available human gut metagenomes encompassing 32 countries. The study was carried out in a research group led by Professor of Data Science Leo Lahti. In high-income countries, an average of nine percent higher total antibiotic resistance gene load was observed in women than in men. This suggests that women may be more frequently exposed to antibiotics, bacteria resistant to antibiotics, or are more often carriers of resistant bacteria.

In low- and middle-income countries, men had a higher load of antibiotic resistance genes than women. However, the difference was not statistically significant when covariates such as age and differences in living conditions between countries were taken into account. Interestingly, the differences emerged in adulthood.

“This suggests that lifestyle, biological differences or healthcare-related factors may influence these differences more in adulthood than in childhood,” says Postdoctoral Researcher Katariina Pärnänen from the University of Turku.

In addition, a slightly higher diversity of resistance genes was found in women in high-income countries compared to men, suggesting a broader resistance variation in the gut microbiota.

Antibiotic resistance varies by age and geography

Age and country of residence were strongly associated with the number and diversity of antibiotic resistance genes. These were particularly high in infants and the oldest age group.

High antibiotic use was associated with higher resistance gene loads and diversity. High levels of resistance were also found in low-income countries, which may be explained by factors such as poor hygiene and sanitation.

The study highlights the complex interaction of gender, age, socio-economic status, and geography in the distribution of antibiotic resistance. The research results could help develop better ways to fight antibiotic resistance.

“Understanding gender differences in antibiotic resistance is key to designing equitable and effective healthcare interventions. Our study will lay the groundwork for further research to reduce health inequalities related to antibiotic resistance," concludes Pärnänen.

The research article "Gender differences in global antimicrobial resistance" has been published in npj Biofilms and Microbiomes on 19 May 2025.

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Journal

npj Biofilms and Microbiomes

DOI

10.1038/s41522-025-00715-9 

Article Title

Gender differences in global antimicrobial resistance

NAKED ESPRESSO

Hold the cream and sugar: black coffee linked to lower risk of death

Study links coffee consumption to lower risk of all-cause mortality; benefits diminished with additives

Tufts University

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Study links coffee consumption to lower risk of all-cause mortality; benefits diminished with additives 

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Credit: Alonso Nichols/Tufts University

While you’re probably not pouring your morning cup for the long-term health benefits, coffee consumption has been linked to lower risk of mortality. In a new observational study, researchers from the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University found the association between coffee consumption and mortality risk changes with the amount of sweeteners and saturated fat added to the beverage. 

The study, published online in The Journal of Nutrition, found that consumption of 1-2 cups of caffeinated coffee per day was linked to a lower risk of death from all causes and death from cardiovascular disease. Black coffee and coffee with low levels of added sugar and saturated fat were associated with a 14% lower risk of all-cause mortality as compared to no coffee consumption. The same link was not observed for coffee with high amounts of added sugar and saturated fat. 

“Coffee is among the most-consumed beverages in the world, and with nearly half of American adults reporting drinking at least one cup per day, it’s important for us to know what it might mean for health,” said Fang Fang Zhang, senior author of the study and the Neely Family Professor at the Friedman School. “The health benefits of coffee might be attributable to its bioactive compounds, but our results suggest that the addition of sugar and saturated fat may reduce the mortality benefits.” 

The study analyzed data from nine consecutive cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2018, linked to National Death Index Mortality Data. The study included a nationally representative sample of 46,000 adults aged 20 years and older who completed valid first-day 24-hour dietary recalls. Coffee consumption was categorized by type (caffeinated or decaffeinated), sugar, and saturated fat content. Mortality outcomes included all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Low added sugar (from granulated sugar, honey, and syrup) was defined as under 5% of the Daily Value, which is 2.5 grams per 8-ounce cup or approximately half a teaspoon of sugar. Low saturated fat (from milk, cream, and half-and-half) was defined as 5% of the Daily Value, or 1 gram per 8-ounce cup or the equivalent of 5 tablespoons of 2% milk, 1 tablespoon of light cream, or 1 tablespoon of half-and-half.    

In the study, consumption of at least one cup per day was associated with a 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality. At 2-3 cups per day, the link rose to 17%. Consumption beyond three cups per day was not associated with additional reductions, and the link between coffee and a lower risk of death by cardiovascular disease weakened when coffee consumption was more than three cups per day. No significant associations were seen between coffee consumption and cancer mortality. 

“Few studies have examined how coffee additives could impact the link between coffee consumption and mortality risk, and our study is among the first to quantify how much sweetener and saturated fat are being added,” said first author Bingjie Zhou, a recent Ph.D. graduate from the nutrition epidemiology and data science program at the Friedman School. “Our results align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans which recommend limiting added sugar and saturated fat.” 

Limitations of the study include the fact that self-reported recall data is subject to measurement error due to day-to-day variations in food intake. The lack of significant associations between decaffeinated coffee and all-cause mortality could be due to the low consumption among the population studied. 

Additional authors are Yongyi Pan and Lu Wang, both of the Friedman School, and Mengyuan Ruan, a graduate of the Friedman School.  

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities under award number R01MD011501. Complete information on methodology is available in the published paper. The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views the National Institutes of Health. 

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Journal

Journal of Nutrition

DOI

10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.05.004 

Improving the well-being of health care workers

Helping certified nursing assistants advance their careers could fight burnout, high turnover

University of Georgia

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The stress health care workers such as certified nursing assistants face can be overwhelming. New research from the University of Georgia suggests that helping CNAs with career advancement opportunities could stop them from quitting.

As the population ages and more people need long-term care, the demand for CNAs continues to grow. However, the turnover rate for CNAs is about 27.7% per year due to factors such as stress and low pay.

Not only does this make the current shortage of health care workers worse, but it could leave remaining CNAs, nurses and doctors struggling to keep up with the needs of their patients.

To learn how to help, the researchers from the UGA Institute of Gerontology and Institute for Disaster Management surveyed more than 200 CNAs about their career satisfaction, opportunities for career progression, professional fulfillment and burnout.

“CNAs are the people who are going to be spending the day to day with aging adults and the disabled — people who really need long-term care. They really have the heart to do this work,” said Anita Reina, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in UGA’s Cognitive Aging Research and Education Center in the College of Public Health. “If we lose people who are skilled in these areas, we may end up dealing with a generation of people who are not getting the essential day-to-day care that they need.”

Career advancement opportunities lead to professional fulfillment, less burnout

The researchers sought to explore the relationship between job satisfaction and burnout that could lead to CNAs leaving their jobs. They analyzed the CNAs’ views of career progression, gauging interest in continuing education programs and what skills CNAs want to gain for career advancement.

The study found that CNAs with access to continuing education programs tend to be happier in their jobs and less likely to be burned out. But only about one in three CNAs were able to access such opportunities.

“CNAs were happy about their jobs and their chosen career path. What they were not happy about was their progression opportunities,” Reina said. “Few of the places where they worked offered any kind of professional development opportunities.”

Interest in career progression is high, but opportunities are scarce for certified nursing assistants

The vast majority of the CNAs were interested in additional training programs. The most important topic to them was improving well-being through self-care and prioritizing their mental health.

Many also said they wanted to focus on improving their health care skillset and learn how to handle difficult patient interactions. Others wanted to learn about what other health care fields are accessible with a CNA certificate and how to negotiate their salaries.

“Health care programs can offer these kinds of job progression opportunities, whether it’s continuing education training within their own facilities or training people to take on a leadership role,” Reina said. “Those opportunities might help some of the CNAs feel like they have a voice.”

By implementing more programs that allow CNAs to improve their skills and well-being, the researchers hope that this essential group of workers more fulfilled and able to provide the care and connection their patients need.

The study was published in Gerontology & Geriatrics Education and co-authored by Ashley N. Adawi Suker, Fiona Douglas, Kerstin Emerson, Ke’von T. Hamilton, Austin D. Dobbs, Curtis Harris, Jenay M. Beer and Lisa M. Renzi-Hammond.

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Journal

Gerontology & Geriatrics Education

DOI

10.1080/02701960.2025.2500092 

Article Title

Assessing certified nursing assistants’ interest in well-being-oriented continuing education to improve job sustainability and career progression

‘Trace’ memorial art installation honors essential workers lost to COVID-19

CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy

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Attendee interacts with "Trace"

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Credit: CUNY SPH

New York, NY | June 16, 2025 – On May 28, the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) unveiled “Trace,” an interactive art installation memorializing essential workers who lost their lives to COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic.

The launch event took place at the CUNY Center in Harlem, on the ground floor of the CUNY SPH campus at 55 West 125th street where the installation is housed, and invited community members to experience “Trace” in its new home.

Community partners, elected officials, local businesses owners, and CUNY SPH faculty, staff, and students gathered to learn about and interact with the piece. To honor the message of “Trace,” three community members were honored for their support of Harlem and the greater New York City community during the pandemic: Dominick Boyce, Deneane Brown-Blackmon, and Dr. Cheryl Smith. Each honoree received accolades and praise from CUNY SPH Dean Ayman El-Mohandes and local elected officials, who presented proclamations and citations.

The installation features one hundred workers’ names, each complemented by a dedicated phrase about the worker shared by their loved ones. The artist, Nyssa Chow, used heat-sensitive paint so that the names and memories become visible when the wall is warmed by the touch of a hand.

“The use of touch reminds us of the barriers to touch in that period, as well as the fundamental, life-saving role that human connection and contact have in the face of loss,” says Chow. “The names fade back into invisibility once the heat dissolves, evoking the temporary nature of memory and the fragility of life.”

“Trace” was brought to CUNY SPH through a collaboration with the Harlem Health Initiative (HHI), the New York City Preparedness and Recovery Institute (PRI), the CUNY SPH Foundation, and Manhattan Community Board 10.

“By placing ‘Trace’ in the academic environment of CUNY SPH and the community-oriented environment of HHI, we hope to activate further reflection, education, and dialogue about this period,” said HHI Community Outreach Program Director Deborah Levine. “The installation offers stakeholders and the public a space for reflection, ongoing learning, collective organizing, and action.”

“The ‘Trace’ event represents the best of CUNY SPH,” said Dean El-Mohandes. “Infusing art, culture and society within our framework of community service and our Harlem community response is authentic and rewarding. As we mark the fifth anniversary of the pandemic, ‘Trace’ offers more than remembrance. It is also a call to action, asking us to continue advocating for reform, equity, and lasting recognition for those who stood on the frontlines.”

“The ‘Trace’ launch was profoundly moving—a rare moment that gave voice to those too often unheard in public health,” said CUNY SPH Dean’s Advisory Council Chair Freida Foster. “The artwork centers the lived experiences of essential workers and the event honored community members who made a difference during the pandemic. Coupling those two vantage points did more than share data; it told truths. It reminds us that real public health is not just about policies or programs, but about people—and that when we listen deeply, we build a system that heals, not just treats. This is the kind of public health our future depends on.”

“I’m so grateful for the way that ‘Trace’ honors and creates a deep sense of connection with essential workers,” says CUNY SPH Associate Professor Emma Tsui. “It is striking in that it lifts up not only their incalculable contributions to our societal health, but also the unique and tender ways they are remembered by their families and communities. These windows into their lives invite openness, permeability, connectedness, and exploration—energies that we so badly need to sustain ourselves and find new ways forward in the current landscape.”

The “Trace” team has designed a resource guide for hosting events at the CUNY Center in Harlem to provide tools for different degrees of engagement. The guide discusses the significance of the piece’s focus on essential workers, how to interact with the artwork, and how to integrate “Trace” into events. Resources are also available to support grief and mental health support and undocumented immigrants who contribute to a significant portion of essential workers.

To measure the impact of this powerful artwork and better tailor resources to the communities’ needs, the team has created a short anonymous survey requesting those who’ve interacted with “Trace” to share their experience. Take the two-minute survey here.

Media contact:

Ariana Costakes

Communications Editorial Manager

ariana.costakes@sph.cuny.edu

About CUNY SPH

The CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) is committed to promoting and sustaining healthier populations in New York City and around the world through excellence in education, research, and service in public health and by advocating for sound policy and practice to advance social justice and improve health outcomes for all.

About the artist

Nyssa Chow is an oral historian, multidisciplinary artist, and writer serving as the interim director of the Oral History Master’s Program at Columbia University. She has taught oral history, literary nonfiction, and documentary arts, and was a Visiting Scholar at Princeton University. Chow co-created and leads the DocX Labs at Duke University, which supports BIPOC artists in documentary arts. She is the recipient of the 2018 PEN/Jean Stein for Literary Oral History and has collaborated with various filmmakers and artists. Her work spans oral history, visual art, and exhibitions, and she has lectured widely on the intersection of art and oral history. Learn more about Nyssa’s work at tellinghistories.com/nyssachow.

About the CUNY SPH Foundation

The CUNY SPH Foundation’s mission is to advance the achievement of CUNY SPH’s mission, vision, and values as New York City’s public school of public health through fundraising, building strategic partnerships, and providing services as a champion for the school’s students as they embark on public health careers and its faculty as they work to educate the next generation of public health professionals.

About NYC PRI

The New York City Preparedness and Recovery Institute (PRI) is a landmark initiative operated by Columbia University, with key partner CUNY SPH, designed to help prepare NYC for future public health threats – from infectious disease to climate-related health emergencies – by advancing racial equity, building resilience, and elevating NYC as a model of public health preparedness across the globe.