The Metabolic and Respiratory Effects of Intermittent Hypoxia-hyperoxia Therapy in Obese Patients Within the Complex Management of Medical Rehabilitation

Detailed Summary

Obesity represents the excessive or abnormal accumulation of adipose tissue in the body, which affects health through its association with the risk of developing diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases and hypertension. Obesity can cause significant respiratory changes, so obese patients present pulmonary complications more frequently than individuals with normal weight. Intermittent hypoxia (IH) represents the alternation between repeated episodes of hypoxia interspersed with normoxic episodes. Intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia is the therapy that uses hyperoxic intervals instead of normoxic ones between hypoxic breathing sessions. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia therapy among obese patients, focusing on metabolic and respiratory effects. The study aimed to determine if this method could bring benefits in managing or alleviating the complications associated with obesity. A total of 70 obese patients will be recruited and randomized to either the IHHT group or the control group. The intervention group will receive IHHT while the control group will not receive this therapy. All patients will be assessed at baseline and after 2 weeks of treatment using a variety of clinical and functional measures. The study's results will be used to determine whether IHHT benefits the patients who follow it. This study is designed to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on treating obese patients. The results of the study will be of interest to clinicians, researchers, and patients.

Study Details

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