Taipei Medical University’s Shuang Ho Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania are using a home test kit to diagnose sleep apnea, as the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) appears to be underdiagnosed in Asia, a doctor at the hospital said on Sunday.
A potentially serious sleep disorder, OSA is characterized by repeated, brief interruptions of breathing during sleep.
Severe OSA is defined as having an apnea-hypopnea index — the number of pauses in breathing and overly shallow breathing in an hour of sleep — of 30 or above.
The prevalence of OSA is about 10 percent globally and 15 to 20 percent in Asia, although it seems to be underdiagnosed and undertreated in Asia, said Liu Wen-te (劉文德), associate professor at Taipei Medical University’s School of Respiratory Therapy and director of Shuang Ho Hospital’s Sleep Research Center.
The prevalence of sleep apnea increases with age, Liu said, adding that after age 60, about 45 percent of men and 33 percent of women are diagnosed with OSA.
The risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack or stroke in people with untreated OSA is three to five times that of people without OSA, Liu said.
The disorder can also increase the risk of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, chronic coughing, gastric reflux and insomnia, he added.
A polysomnography is an exam used to diagnose sleep disorders. Typically conducted in a hospital or sleep clinic, the test records a person’s brain waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing, and eye and leg movements as they sleep.
Many suspected of having OSA are unwilling to spend a night in a hospital undergoing a polysomnography, so Shuang Ho Hospital has since May been cooperating with about 10 clinics to provide home sleep apnea tests, Liu said.
After a consultation with a doctor, people can use the home test kit in their bedroom, attaching a device to their body before going to sleep and afterward returning it to the doctor, who can use the data it gathered to offer a diagnosis, he said.
Most people find the home test to be more convenient and comfortable, Liu added.
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