Azarbarzin A, et al. - Among adults aged 40 and older, researchers investigated if measuring sleep apnea severity by the “hypoxic burden” could predict mortality. In this study, they examined samples from two cohort studies: The Outcomes of Sleep Disorders in Older Men (MrOS); and the Sleep Heart Health Study (SHHS). The MrOS included 2,743 men, age 76.3 ± 5.5 years; and SHHS involved 5,111 middle-aged and older adults (52.8% women), age: 63.7 ± 10.9 years. Across populations, the “hypoxic burden” (an easily derived signal from overnight sleep study) was identified as a predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, but not all-cause mortality. According to findings, important disease characterizing features include, not only the frequency, but also the depth and duration of sleep related upper airway obstructions.