Published: 6 November 2015
Authors: Neill, A.
Obstructive sleep apnoea
New Zealand health services are ill equipped to meet the growing health burden arising from obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), insomnia and sleep-related crashes. District health boards have reduced their funding for OSA services.
In this presentation Alister will describe key clinical features of OSA, its prevalence, ethnic and geographical distribution in New Zealand, disease burden, societal cost, and the cost effectiveness of current treatments. He will show examples of existing sleep services and discuss strategies to improve access.
Key messages
· A minimum of 4% of adult males, 2% of adult females and 3 to 5% of children experience OSA.
· OSA is one of the most common respiratory disorders of childhood.
· Increasing obesity will increase OSA prevalence.
· Most cases are undiagnosed, especially in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage.
· OSA rates are higher among Māori and Pacific peoples.
OSA is considered a contributor to overall health loss and a risk factor for other conditions (heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes)
