A recent HNF CMT Update newsletter shared these results from a survey where a lot of CMTers indicated they have some kind of respiratory problem. In this survey, people with CMT1A and CMT1B reported breathing problems more often than people with CMT2, but a survey like this can’t show that CMT1 is more affected in general. I would guess sleep apnea is under-diagnosed, but it and shortness of breath are both likely to be worse with age, lack of exercise, and weight gain, which tends to come with mobility loss, pain, and fatigue. That’s my guess, though, not something these charts can show: a one-time snapshot like this can’t tell us whether breathing problems get worse with age, inactivity, or weight.
I haven’t been able to find how many people answered HNF’s survey or how it was carried out; the charts don’t say. For more on CMT and breathing, see CMT and Respiratory Dysfunction, Respiratory Problems and CMT, Sleep Apnea and CMT, and the glossary entry on respiratory muscle weakness.
Updated October 10, 2026: Added captions and context to make clear that these charts show survey responses, not estimates for everyone with CMT, and linked to related posts.
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