Effect of Weight Loss From ESG Plus Lifestyle Changes vs. Lifestyle Changes Alone in Sleep Apnea Patients

Summary

Study Overview:

Obesity and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) are strongly linked. This study aims to understand whether a procedure called Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG), along with lifestyle changes like healthy eating and regular exercise, can help improve symptoms of OSA in people with obesity.

What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)?

OSA is a condition where your breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. This happens when the airway becomes blocked-often due to extra fat around the neck and throat in people with obesity. These breathing interruptions can lead to poor sleep quality, daytime tiredness, mood issues, and long-term health risks like high blood pressure and heart problems.

Why Does Weight Matter?

Obesity is a major cause of OSA. Being overweight can cause:

Narrowing of the airway

More inflammation in the body

Hormonal changes

Difficulty breathing properly during sleep

Losing weight can reduce these problems, ease OSA symptoms, and help improve sleep. Even a moderate amount of weight loss can make a big difference.

How Can People Lose Weight?

Many people try to lose weight through:

Diet changes

Exercise

Behavioural changes like mindful eating

These methods can help, but some people find it hard to lose enough weight or keep it off. That's where medical procedures like ESG can help.

What is ESG (Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty)?

ESG is a non-surgical, minimally invasive weight-loss procedure. It works by reducing the size of your stomach using stitches (done through a tube inserted through your mouth-no cuts or incisions on the body). A smaller stomach means you feel full sooner and eat less.

Benefits of ESG:

Helps you lose weight (up to 20% of total body weight)

Lower risk of complications than traditional surgery

Short recovery time

No hospital stay in most cases

What Does the Research Say So Far?

Some early studies have shown that ESG can help people lose a significant amount of weight and may also improve conditions related to obesity, such as OSA.

One study followed 99 people for a year after ESG. About 30% had OSA at the start. After the procedure, many reported improvement in their OSA symptoms.

Another study compared ESG with a more invasive surgery (laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy or LSG). While LSG led to more weight loss, both groups showed similar improvements in OSA symptoms.

This shows that ESG may be a good option for improving OSA, but more research is needed to fully understand its benefits.

Why Is This Study Important?

With obesity and OSA becoming more common, it is important to find effective and safe treatments. This study will help us learn:

How much ESG can improve sleep and breathing in people with OSA

Whether combining ESG with lifestyle changes is better than lifestyle changes alone

How ESG impacts other health problems linked to obesity

What We Hope to Learn:

We believe that weight loss from ESG will:

Reduce the severity of OSA

Improve sleep quality

Improve overall health

The results of this study could help guide future treatment options for people with obesity and sleep apnea.

Conditions

• OSA - Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Interventions

DEVICE

Endoscopic Sleeve Gastropathy

Weight loss through diet, exercise, and behavioural changes positively impacts sleep quality. Reduction in body weight can alleviate OSA symptoms and improve overall sleep architecture1,2,3 Surgical weight loss procedures play a crucial role in managing obesity-related health issues, including OSA.4 Endobariatric procedures, including Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG), have gained attention as a weight loss solution with the potential for improving obesity-related health issues. ESG involves suturing the stomach to reduce its size, limiting food intake. Unlike traditional bariatric surgeries, ESG doesn't require incisions. ESG has shown promise in achieving clinically significant weight loss, up to 20% of TBWL. By reducing stomach capacity, it promotes satiety and calorie restriction. ESG is generally safe, with fewer complications compared to more invasive procedures

OTHER

Lifestyle Modification alone

Participants will follow a structured program involving a low-calorie diet (typically 1200-1500 kcal/day), regular physical activity (150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week), and behavioural therapy sessions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, India

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Rakesh Kalapala, MD, DNB · Asian Institute of Gastroeterology

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-08-19

Primary Completion

2029-05-19

Completion

2029-05-19

Countries

• India

Study Locations