Researchers Present Preliminary Findings from InHealth-Funded Obstructive Sleep Apnea Study

Supported by a grant from InHealth, a team of researchers from Northwestern University and Stanford University recently gave a poster presentation on their preliminary findings about the value of technology for diagnosing and treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The poster was on display at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), the  largest international meeting dedicated to advancing clinical and scientific understanding of pulmonary diseases, critical illnesses, and sleep-related breathing disorders.

The findings emerge from the researchers’ study titled “Assessing the Impact of Medical Technology in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea,” in which they analyzed existing data about the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of common diagnostic and therapeutic technologies prescribed for OSA, including in-laboratory polysomnography and portable monitoring and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, the most common therapy for OSA. Based on these data, the  researchers constructed a decision-analytic model to assess the benefits of commonly employed diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, both at the patient and population level, and to identify additional advantages that may be generated through increased access to diagnostic and therapeutic technologies.

The preliminary results suggest the shape of full findings that will eventually provide data about the direct effects of device-based diagnosis and treatment of OSA at the population level, particularly that which documents how device-based treatment can affect patient outcomes and quality of life. Even in this early form, the presentation attracted the attention of clinicians, economists, and leading industry representatives.

More than 50 million Americans suffer from a chronic disorder of sleep and wakefulness, and of those, six million suffer from OSA, one of the more severe types of disorders.¹ Coupled with other common U.S. public health problems—such as obesity, diabetes, stroke, and depression—the effects of sleep disorders have a profound socioeconomic impact.  The total direct and indirect annual costs of sleep disorders and sleep deprivation are estimated to be over a hundred billion dollars.

Currently, diagnosis and treatment of OSA is hindered in part by lack of public awareness of the disease and available therapies, long wait times at clinics, and the cost of treatments. Findings from the InHealth-funded study will provide a benchmark that can be used to inform future policy decisions regarding coverage of OSA diagnosis and treatment.  Further, efficacy and cost-benefit data emerging from the study will contribute to the advancement of additional diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to treat the condition.

The research team is led by John H. Linehan, PhD, professor of medicine and biomedical engineering at Northwestern University, and a consulting professor of bioengineering in Stanford University’s Biodesign Program; and Jan B. Pietzsch, PhD, consulting assistant professor in Stanford University’s department of management science and engineering, and president and chief executive officer of Wing Tech Inc., a management and technology consulting firm.
 
Full findings from the study are expected in the second half of 2009.


¹ Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research, Board on Health Sciences Policy, Institute of Medicine, Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem, ed. HR Colten and BM Altevogt (Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, 2006).