Treating sleep apnea deemed important by US adults but 31% not receiving treatment
Key takeaways:
- In this survey, 83% reported that they would “definitely” or “mostly” want to know if they had sleep apnea.
- Researchers found differences in some responses based on age, sex, race/ethnicity and sleep apnea risk.
A greater proportion of U.S. adults said treating sleep apnea was “extremely” or “moderately” important vs. “minimally” or “not at all important,” according to survey data from the National Sleep Foundation and Inspire Medical Systems Inc.
However, in a group of adults with sleep apnea testing and a diagnosis, no current receipt of treatment was reported by 4%, which equates to “approximately 31%, or over 10.5 million adults,” according to the survey report.
“Sleep apnea is a serious medical disorder that warrants focused medical treatment,” Joseph Dzierzewski, PhD, senior vice president of research & scientific affairs at the National Sleep Foundation, told Healio. “In fact, nearly 9 in 10 adults agree that sleep apnea is a serious medical disorder that is important to treat.
“Identifying and removing barriers to diagnosis and treatment are important steps to promote health, well-being, safety and performance for the millions of adults with sleep apnea,” Dzierzewski said.
Using data from an online survey, the National Sleep Foundation with support from Inspire Medical Systems Inc. evaluated responses from 1,015 U.S. adults (mean age, 48 years; 51% women; 61% white; 12% Black; 18% Hispanic) to gain insight on various aspects of sleep apnea from the perspective of the public.
Within the total cohort, the risk for sleep apnea was deemed intermediate or high via the STOP-BANG questionnaire for 38% of adults (26%, intermediate; 12%, high). Notably, the proportion of adults reporting sleep apnea testing or diagnosis was smaller than the proportion reporting no testing or diagnosis (19% vs. 81%), according to the survey report.
In the group of adults without sleep apnea testing or diagnosis, researchers found that 11% or “just over 29 million people” believe they might have this disorder.
Switching to the group of adults with sleep apnea testing and a diagnosis (13% out of 19%), no current receipt of treatment was reported by 4%, which equates to “approximately 31%, or over 10.5 million adults,” according to the survey report.
“The large number of people at high risk for sleep apnea, the tens of millions of people who suspect they have sleep apnea and the large percentage of adults who have sleep apnea but are not being treated are at higher risk for some of the negative consequences of untreated sleep apnea, like cardiovascular and metabolic conditions, cognitive decline and mental health problems,” Dzierzewski told Healio.
When asked about sleep apnea symptoms, more adults reported being aware vs. unaware of the following symptoms: “waking feeling unrefreshed” (71% vs. 29%), “loud snoring” (70% vs. 30%) and “being very sleepy during the day” (70% vs. 30%).
In contrast, researchers observed that the proportion of adults reporting awareness was close to the proportion reporting unawareness for the symptoms of “trouble paying attention during the day” (57% vs. 43%), “waking in the morning with a dry mouth” (57% vs. 43%), “daytime irritability” (56% vs. 44%) and “having a headache upon waking in the morning” (49% vs. 51%).
“Nearly 1 in 5 adults are unable to identify a single symptom of sleep apnea,” Dzierzewski told Healio.
“If people are not aware that they may be experiencing symptoms of a disorder, they are unlikely to seek evaluation or treatment,” he added,
When divided by patient demographics, the survey report noted elevated levels of symptom awareness among middle-age and older adults vs. younger adults; white adults vs. adults of other races/ethnicities; and adults with high and intermediate sleep apnea risk vs. low sleep apnea risk. No difference was found based on sex.
Of the studied population, 83% reported that they would either “definitely” or “mostly” want to know if they had sleep apnea. The remaining 17% responded negatively to this question, with 9% saying they “would not want to know at all” and 8% saying they “would be a little hesitant to know.”
“Extrapolated to the U.S. adult population, an estimated 45 million adults would not want to know if they had sleep apnea,” researchers wrote.
In terms of the severity level of sleep apnea as a medical condition, a higher proportion of adults said it was “very serious” or “moderately serious” vs. “not so serious” or “not a serious medical condition at all” (88% vs. 12%).
Similarly, researchers highlighted that more adults said treating sleep apnea was “extremely” or “moderately” important vs. “minimally” or “not at all important” (88% vs. 12%).
In addition to capturing how adults would feel if they personally had sleep apnea, researchers asked the adults how they would feel if their friends or family had this disorder. A greater proportion of adults responded yes vs. no to the following actions upon learning that a friend or family member has sleep apnea: “be concerned for their health and well-being” (64% vs. 36%), “share your concern with them” (60% vs. 40%) and “support them with any treatment challenges” (57% vs. 43%).
Further, doing nothing upon learning this information was an uncommon response in this population (8%), according to researchers.
When divided by patient demographics, the survey report revealed that feeling concerned in this context was “less likely” among younger adults vs. middle-age and older adults, as well as among men vs. women.
To gain an understanding of how knowledgeable adults are on the potential consequences of sleep apnea when left untreated, researchers asked them about nine consequences. For eight consequences, a higher proportion of adults said they were vs. were not a potential consequence. According to the results document, these included:
- mental health problems (81% vs. 19%);
- thinking problems (80% vs. 20%);
- heart problems (75% vs. 26%);
- car crashes and other safety concerns (68% vs. 32%);
- learning difficulties in children (59% vs. 41%);
- poor outcomes when undergoing surgical procedures (59% vs. 41%);
- complications during pregnancy (59% vs. 41%); and
- poor balance and falls (57% vs. 43%).
“There is still opportunity for increased awareness of the serious consequences of untreated sleep apnea in that roughly [one-fourth] of the U.S. adult population were only able to identify three or fewer of consequences of untreated sleep apnea (out of the provided nine consequences of untreated sleep apnea),” researchers wrote.
The final questions on the survey pertained to sleep apnea treatment. More than 60% of adults reported that sleep apnea can be treated by breathing devices (88% vs. 12%), lifestyle changes such as weight loss or alcohol limitation (82% vs. 18%) and dental appliances (62% vs. 38%), according to the survey report.
The remaining five treatments presented to the population had close proportions of adults reporting that the option is vs. is not a sleep apnea treatment: specialty pillows and bedding (56% vs. 44%), nasal strips (56% vs. 44%), implantable medical devices (54% vs. 46%), throat and facial surgery (48% vs. 52%) and medication (48% vs. 52%).
“Most people, nearly 8 in 10, are not aware of all treatment options available for sleep apnea,” Dzierzewski told Healio. “Low symptom and treatment awareness could certainly be contributing to high levels of people being undiagnosed and undertreated.
“Clinicians can, and should, be a source of information for their patients,” Dzierzewski continued. “In fact, it could be argued that the very high rates of people at increased risk for sleep apnea might prompt more routine questions about sleep apnea symptoms, specifically, and sleep health, generally, among routine clinical visits.”
Notably, researchers found differences in treatment awareness based on age, sex, race/ethnicity and risk for sleep apnea, leading to a call for “targeted outreach ... in younger, female and historically underserved communities.”
Lastly, more than 50% of adults said they would vs. would not try four of the seven presented treatment options. According to the report, these options included lifestyle changes (85% vs. 15%), oral medication (72% vs. 28%), a dental appliance (68% vs. 33%) and a CPAP machine (59% vs. 41%).
Researchers noted that the remaining three treatment options had a greater proportion of adults who said they would not vs. would try them: injectable medication (53% vs. 47%), implantable device (66% vs. 34%) and surgery (67% vs. 33%).
“Undiagnosed and undertreated sleep disorders are a large public health concern, and National Sleep Foundation will continue to explore potential causes and remedies so that anyone and everyone has the opportunity to be their ‘Best Slept Self,’” Dzierzewski told Healio.
Reference:
- National Sleep Foundation research reveals nearly 1/3 of Americans diagnosed with sleep apnea are not receiving treatment despite health risks. https://www.thensf.org/understanding-sleep-apnea-survey/. Published March 11, 2025. Accessed March 11, 2025.