Large observational studies have shown obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) does in fact confer greater mortality compared to the general population. In one study of 14,589 adult males aged 20 to 93 years, a crude all-cause mortality rate of 5.6 per 1000 person-years was observed (1). Moreover, the mortality rate showed a dose-response relationship to apnea severity, with the mortality risk in men with moderate and severe sleep apnea being significantly increased compared to that of the general population. The difference was most dramatic amongst men less than 50 years of age. In a similar study of 475 men with OSA, mortality was significantly reduced in those treated with surgery, weight loss, or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), compared to the untreated group. The mortality of the untreated group was higher than that of the general population even after adjustment for age and sex, and again, greater differences were observed in the group less than 50 years of age (2). Sleep apnea has been implicated in many cardiovascular and noncardiovascular diseases, and therefore these observations are not surprising. In the following sections, we will discuss the relationship of sleep apnea to several common diseases, and their specific morbidities and mortalities.