Estimation of the clinically diagnosed proportion of sleep apnea syndrome in middle-aged men and women.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Cross-sectional screening and prevalence study with laboratory polysomnography validation in a subcohort.
PubMed 9406321 · doi:10.1093/sleep/20.9.705
What was done
Questionnaire data on doctor-diagnosed sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) were collected from a sample of 4,925 employed adults. In-laboratory polysomnography was conducted on a subset of 1,090 participants to estimate the prevalence of screen-detected sleep apnea. These data were used to estimate the proportion of moderate to severe SAS that remains clinically undiagnosed in a population without obvious barriers to healthcare.
What was found
An estimated 93% of women and 82% of men with moderate to severe sleep apnea syndrome had not been clinically diagnosed.
Why it matters
This study provided early baseline evidence of vast underdiagnosis of moderate to severe sleep apnea in working-age adults, informing healthcare resource planning.
Limits
The sample was restricted to employed middle-aged adults, limiting generalizability to unemployed, retired, or elderly groups. Objective in-laboratory polysomnography was performed only on a subset (1,090 of 4,925 participants). Exact diagnostic thresholds and confidence intervals were not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Between 70% and 80% of individuals with clinical sleep apnea remain undiagnosed.
- supports Between 90% and 95% of women with clinical sleep apnea go undiagnosed.