The study, authored by Alec Platt, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania, focused on 275 newly diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients.
According to the results, those who lived in poor, low education and low employment neighborhoods spent less time using their CPAP machine than patients from better-off neighborhoods. Even after adjusting the data for individual demographic characteristics, the effects of living in a neighborhood with low socioeconomic status persisted.
“The results from this study signify that patients from disadvantaged neighborhoods may face greater challenges in benefiting from CPAP,” said Dr. Platt. “The next step is to figure out how to help patients living in these neighborhoods spend more time on their CPAP machines so they can be more awake and alert during the day, and also, perhaps, avoid the long-term cardiovascular complications that come from compromised breathing during sleep.”
OSA is a sleep-related breathing disorder that causes your body to stop breathing during sleep. OSA occurs when the tissue in the back of the throat collapses and blocks the airway. This keeps air from getting into the lungs. It is estimated that four percent of men and two percent of women have OSA, and millions more remain undiagnosed.
First introduced as a treatment option for sleep apnea in 1981, CPAP is the most common and effective treatment for OSA. CPAP provides a steady stream of pressurized air to patients through a mask that they wear during sleep. This airflow keeps the airway open, preventing the pauses in breathing that characterize sleep apnea and restoring normal oxygen levels.-American Academy of Sleep Medicine
