Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the most common sleep disorders. Since aging is a risk factor for OSA development, it is expected that its prevalence will increase with the current increase in life span. In recent years, several studies have shown that OSA potentially contributes to functional decline, mainly prompted by chronic intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation. Here, we propose that OSA might anticipate/aggravate aging by inducing cellular and molecular impairments that characterize the aging process, such as stem cell exhaustion, telomere attrition and epigenetic changes. We suggest that further knowledge on the impact of OSA on aging mechanisms might contribute to a better understanding of how OSA might putatively accelerate aging and aging-related diseases.

阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）是最常见的睡眠障碍之一。由于老化是OSA发展的风险因素，因此预计其流行程度将随着当前寿命的增加而增加。近年来，一些研究表明，OSA可能导致功能下降，主要是由慢性间歇性缺氧和睡眠分裂引起的。在这里，我们建议OSA通过诱导表征衰老过程的细胞和分子损伤（例如干细胞衰竭，端粒损耗和表观遗传变化）来预测/加重衰老。我们建议进一步了解OSA对衰老机制的影响可能有助于更好地了解OSA可能如何加速衰老和与衰老相关的疾病。