Estimation of the Clinically Diagnosed Proportion of Sleep Apnea Syndrome in Middle-aged Men and Women

TLDR

The study estimated undiagnosed sleep apnea prevalence by surveying 4,925 employed adults, following up doctor‑diagnosed cases, and performing polysomnography on a 1,090‑person subset. We found that 93 % of women and 82 % of men with moderate to severe sleep apnea remain clinically undiagnosed, underscoring a need for targeted healthcare resource planning.

Abstract

The proportion of sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) in the general adult population that goes undiagnosed was estimated from a sample of 4,925 employed adults. Questionnaire data on doctor-diagnosed sleep apnea were followed up to ascertain the prevalence of diagnosed sleep apnea. In-laboratory polysomnography on a subset of 1,090 participants was used to estimate screen-detected sleep apnea. In this population, without obvious barriers to health care for sleep disorders, we estimate that 93% of women and 82% of men with moderate to severe SAS have not been clinically diagnosed. These findings provide a baseline for assessing health care resource needs for sleep apnea.