Obstructive Sleep Apnea Among Somali-Americans

Summary

The investigators seek to advance the understanding of obstructive sleep apnea as it relates to different ethnic origins as well as sex differences. The investigators will compare Somali patients with known obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to individuals without OSA, and to individuals of other ethnic/racial origins to determine the risk factors (genetic and/or physiologic) associated with developing cardiovascular diseases. This will help the investigators to understand the unique sleep pathology of individuals of African descent.

Detailed Description

Participants can be healthy volunteers or volunteers diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. All patients may undergo a sleep study (i.e. hospital or home-based), physical examination, questionnaires, blood and urine samples, ultrasound scan of the heart and brachial artery in the arm, CT scan, DEXA scan, paced breathing test, cardiopulmonary test and chemo-sensitivity test.

Eligibility Criteria