Socioeconomic disparities in obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review of empirical research

Considering socioeconomic status (SES) in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) will enhance our understanding of socioeconomic disparities in clinical practice of sleep medicine. This systematic review analyzes the relations between SES and OSA measures.

Eleven articles were identified through the Pubmed database. The National Institute of Health's Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies was used to rate the quality of these studies.

This systematic review revealed that associations between socioeconomic status and OSA measures are similar for both adults, children, and adolescents. Our findings showed that: (1) A lower SES is associated with an increased risk of OSA, both in adults and children/adolescents as well as for men and women. (2) Several studies assessed sleep outcomes with a single question, an approach that is unable to capture the multi-dimensionality and day-to-day variability of sleep in general or OSA in particular, (3) Low SES has detrimental effects on sleep health. (4) Sleep questionnaires are more commonly used than objective measure to assess OSA.

Interaction between SES and OSA must be better understood to improve current clinical guidelines. Living conditions influence the trajectory of OSA with unknown speed and for an, undetermined period, pointing to the need for more studies on this topic. Future work should identify the effect of SES on the development and progression of OSA, determine the effect of behavioral intervention and local public health programs to reduce social inequalities associated with OSA.