Screening practices for obstructive sleep apnea in healthy community people: a Chinese community-based study

Owing to the lack of clear guidelines, the significance of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) screening in healthy community people is unclear. This study aimed to screen for OSA in a healthy community population and provide a basis for its screening.

Permanent residents from five communities in the coastal and mountainous areas of south China were selected. The screening process included demographic and sleep questionnaire surveys, and an OSA screening. To compare the prevalence and risk factors of OSA in different areas, a type IV wearable intelligent sleep monitor (WISM) was used for screening.

A total of 3,650 participants completed all studies, with a mean age of 53.81±12.71 years. In addition, 4,318 participants completed the OSA screening within 30 days, and the objective screening speed was 200 people per day. The recovery rate of the screening equipment was 99.37% (4,291/4,318), the screening success rate was 89.63% (3,846/4,291), and the rejection rate was 2.7% (120/4,438). The prevalence of high-risk OSA screened using the Stop-Bang questionnaire was 42.8% (1,563/3,650) and that screened using the device was 30.7% (1,119/3,650). The prevalence of OSA screened using the Stop-Bang questionnaire was higher than that screened using the device (P<0.01). Further analysis of sleep quality and daytime sleepiness showed that 47.6% (1,736/3,650) of the community population had good sleep quality and 6.6% (240/3,650) had daytime sleepiness. Age, sex, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, and hypertension were risk factors for OSA in the community population.

The use of objective type IV sleep detection equipment to screen a large sample population in the community in a short time is feasible. The prevalence of high-risk OSA screened using the Stop-Bang questionnaire was higher than that screened using the objective screening device.