More than a third of people in the Americas may have obstructive sleep apnea

(Reuters Health) - Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may affect as many as 37% of adults in North, Central and South America, according to a review of epidemiological studies presented June 9 at Sleep 2019, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in San Antonio, Texas.

The finding was no surprise to the review’s senior author, Dr. Adam Benjafield of ResMed, a manufacturer of medical breathing devices in San Diego, California. In an email to Reuters Health, he pointed to the rising rate of obesity, a risk factor in OSA, and recent changes in scoring rules from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

“This research highlights that there is a large burden of disease that may not be widely appreciated and speaks to the need to leverage new technology and efficient clinical pathways to diagnose and treat these patients,” Dr. Benjafield said.

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