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CLINICAL: Snores and scales: Tackling obesity and OSA

Tracks
Track 2
Saturday, October 11, 2025
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Details

Obesity is a major risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), contributing to airway obstruction, reduced lung function, and increased disease severity. This session will explore the complex relationship between obesity and OSA, highlighting the physiological mechanisms linking excess weight to sleep-disordered breathing. Attendees will gain insights into the impact on cardiovascular health, metabolic disorders, and quality of life. The session will also review the latest advancements in weight management strategies, including lifestyle interventions, bariatric surgery, and pharmacological treatments such as GLP-1 receptor agonists.


Speaker

Danny Eckert

OSA and obesity: Nuts and bolts (epidemiology and endotypes/phenotypes)

11:00 AM - 11:20 AM

Biography

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A/prof Samantha Hocking
Clinical Academic
University Of Sydney

Obesity and weight loss: Endocrinologist/obesity physician point of view

11:20 AM - 11:40 AM

Biography

Prof Matthew Naughton
Head, Sleep Service
Alfred Hospital / Monash University

Obesity and weight loss in OSA: Sleep physician point of view

11:40 AM - 12:00 PM

Biography

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Dr Sanjay Patel
Professor, Medicine, Epidemiology, Clinical & Translational Science
University of Pittsburgh

Should GLP-1 agonists be first line therapy in obese OSA patients?

12:00 PM - 12:20 PM

Biography

Professor, Medicine, Epidemiology, Clinical & Translational Science Dr. Sanjay R. Patel, an expert in sleep health, is certified in pulmonary disease and sleep medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Patel is a professor of medicine and epidemiology at University of Pittsburgh, and medical director of UPMC Comprehensive Sleep Disorders program. He earned a master’s degree in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed a residency at the University of Pennsylvania Health System and a fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Patel’s research focuses on the health implications of poor sleep with particular interest on the relationships between sleep and cardiometabolic disease. He directs the Center for Sleep and Cardiovascular Outcomes Research at the University of Pittsburgh. He has published extensively on the subject of obesity management and glucose metabolism with sleep apnea, as well as the association between curtailed sleep and long-term health effects. Research and Clinical Interests: Understanding the epidemiology of sleep disorders with particular emphasis on chronic partial sleep deprivation and obstructive sleep apnea and the potential effects of these disorders on metabolism. One of the first to identify long sleep as a predictor of adverse health outcomes and is currently conducting a clinical trial evaluating the cardiovascular impact of treating sleep apnea in a diabetic population.
Prof Ronald R Grunstein
Professor Of Medicine
Woolcock Institute of Medical Research / Macquarie University / Sydney Health Partners

Panel discussion with all speakers

12:20 PM - 12:30 PM

Biography

Prof Brendon Yee
Professor
The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research

Chair

Biography

Craig Phillips

Chair

Biography

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