title: Underdiagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome in U.S. communities.
abstract: We hypothesize that clinical recognition rates for obstructive sleep apnea-hypoapnea syndrome (OSAHS) are influenced by comorbidity and demographic factors. Data on medical disorders, symptoms of sleep disorders, and cardiovascular risk factors gathered from 15,699 individuals in the Sleep Heart Health Study were compared. Participants were classified into three groups: those with a self-reported physician diagnosis of OSAHS, those with self-reported physician-diagnosed and -treated OSAHS, and those reporting both frequent snoring and daytime sleepiness (two-symptom group). Among all participants, 4.1% reported two symptoms (range across sites: 1.55 to 7.23%), whereas 1.6% reported a physician diagnosis of OSAHS (range: 0.66 to 2.88%) and 0.6% reported physician diagnosis and treatment (range: 0.11 to 0.88%). Recognized OSAHS groups were similar to the two-symptom group in age, having a sleeping partner, measured blood pressure, total cholesterol, and race. In a logistic model that included age along with characteristics found to vary significantly among the three groups (gender, body mass index [BMI], high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, hypertension), only male gender and BMI were increased in those with physician-diagnosed and -treated OSAHS. We conclude that disparities (especially in women and in those with lower BMI) exist between current recognition rates for OSAHS and the estimated prevalence by symptom report across the United States.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
authors.forename: Vishesh
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kapur
authors.forename: Kingman P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Strohl
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Redline
authors.forename: Conrad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Iber
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nieto
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology