Who's At Risk?
People at risk for OSA, especially those in a sedentary job, like truckers, need to recognize the signs and seek medical assistance.
• Biggest single risk factor is excessive weight ( body mass index-weight to height) • large neck (17-in. plus-men, 16-in. plus-women)
PLUS
• morning headaches • irritability • fatigue upon awakening • dozing off or falling asleep while performing daytime activities • most important—extremely loud snoring interrupted by periods of silence that end with snorting or gasping sounds.
An estimated 25 per cent of people are habitual snorers. Not everybody who snores has sleep apnea, but most people with sleep apnea do snore.
Interesting facts relating to OSA:
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that fall-asleep crashes cause at least 1,500 fatalities and 76,000 injuries each year.
• Males outnumber female OSA suffers 8:1
• Sleep apnea employees have a 2-3 fold greater risk of having accidents due to fatigue.
• The accident rate for drivers with sleep apnea who were treated paralleled that of drivers without sleep apnea.
• The reaction time of people with mild to moderate OSA have been shown to be worse than that of people who are legally too drunk to drive. (Imagine if the patients in this test were severe.)
• Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) may be present in the 20-40% of the adult population that experience snoring.
• An individual with untreated OSA is up to 4 times more likely to have a stroke and 3 times more likely to have heart disease.
• Quality sleep requires 4-5 uninterrupted sleep cycles of approximately 90 minutes each. Quantity of sleep needed is 6 to 8 hours for most people.
• A 9-year study by the California Dept. of Health concluded someone getting six hours or less sleep per night can expect 70 percent earlier death rate when compared to those who sleep 7-8 hours a night.
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