Dr. Grace Pien is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She has dual appointments in the Sleep Medicine Division and the Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Division.
Dr. Pien’s research interests focus on sleep disorders and women’s health. She is currently the Principal Investigator of a 5-year study of sleep and sleep-disordered breathing in midlife women from the Philadelphia area. Although it is well known that postmenopausal women are at increased risk for developing obstructive sleep apnea, the reasons are not well understood. Therefore, this NIH-funded study examines how changes in menopausal status and reproductive hormone levels affect the development of obstructive sleep apnea in women during the menopausal transition. Additionally, this study is analyzing anatomical changes in the upper airway structures that occur during sleep, and their relationship to upper airway function. Dr. Pien is collaborating with colleagues in Sleep Medicine, Pulmonary, and Obstetrics and Gynecology as part of the research team. Dr. Pien has also worked with colleagues to determine the relationship between menopausal status, reproductive hormones and sleep quality in mid-life women.
Previously, Dr. Pien examined whether pregnant women are at risk for obstructive sleep apnea. Identification of women likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea during pregnancy is important because of research suggesting that these women are at increased risk for adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.
Dr. Pien’s clinical interests include sleep medicine and non-invasive ventilation for patients with pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases associated with respiratory failure and sleep-disordered breathing. She has served as an attending physician for the Medical Intensive Care Unit and the inpatient Pulmonary Consultation and Sleep Medicine Consultation services at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Pien holds board certification from the American Board of Board of Internal Medicine in Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care, and is also a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine
Chang J.J., Pien G.W., Duntley S.P., Macones G.A. Sleep deprivation during pregnancy and maternal and fetal outcomes: is there a relationship? Sleep Medicine Reviews 2009 (in press).
Ye L., Pien G.W., Ratcliffe S.J., Weaver T.E. Gender differences in obstructive sleep apnea and treatment response to continuous positive airway pressure. J Clinical Sleep Medicine (in press).
Wewers M.E., Bailey W.C., Carlsen K.H., Eisner M.D., Folan P., Heath J., Klinnert M.D., Kovesi T., Pien G.W., Reichart V.C., Talwar A., Thompson K. Tobacco control initiatives within the American Thoracic Society: an official ATS workshop report. Proc Am Thorac Soc (in press).
Sareli A.E., Cantor C.R., Williams N.N., Korus G., Raper S.E., Pien G., Hurley S., Maislin G., Schwab R.J. Obstructive sleep apnea in patients undergoing bariatric surgery – a tertiary center experience. Obesity Surgery (in press).
Gopal M., Sammel M.D., Pien G.W., Gracia C., Freeman E.W., Lin H., Arya L. Investigating the associations between nocturia and sleep disorders in perimenopausal women. J Urology 180: 2063-2067, 2008.
Pien G.W., Sammel M.D., Freeman E.W., Lin H., DeBlasis T.L.: Predictors of sleep quality in women in the menopausal transition. Sleep 31: 991-998, 2008.
Freeman E.W., Sammel M.D., Lin H., Gracia C.R., Pien G.W., Nelson D.B., Sheng L.: Symptoms associated with menopausal transition and reproductive hormones in midlife women. Obstetrics & Gynecology 110: 230-240, 2007.
Pien G.W., Fife D., Pack A.I., Nkwuo J.E., Schwab R.J.: Changes in symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing during pregnancy. Sleep 28: 1299-1305, 2005.
