Effect of alcohol ingestion on breathing and oxygenation during sleep. Analysis of the influence of age and sex.
Breathing and oxygenation were monitored in 78 asymptomatic volunteers on two successive nights of sleep. Four groups of subjects were recruited: 20 young men, 20 young women, 20 men older than 40 years, and 18 postmenopausal women. In random order, subjects ingested either 2 ml/kg (body weight) of 100-proof vodka in orange juice or a similar amount of water in orange juice before bedtime. Alcohol ingestion shortened sleep in the older men and in the postmenopausal women. No effect of alcohol ingestion on breathing or oxygenation during sleep was seen in any group of women. In men, alcohol ingestion increased the numbers of desaturation episodes and caused more severe oxygen desaturation during sleep. The effect of alcohol ingestion on breathing and oxygenation during the sleep of asymptomatic volunteers appears to be limited to men.
D000328:Adult; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000502:physiology; D012119:Respiration; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000503:physiopathology
D000431:Ethanol; D010100:Oxygen