Identifying Patients at Risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in a Primary Care Practice

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Figure 1.
Subject enrollment, accrual, and exclusion criteria. GME indicates general medical examination; OSA, obstructive sleep apnea; ROS, review of systems.

Table 1.

Characteristics of Primary Care Patients with Possible Sleep Disorders (n = 249)

Characteristics	Patients
Age (years)
Mean (SD)	64 (15)
Median (range)	65 (18.0–94.0)
Sex (n [%])
Female	157 (63)
Male	92 (37)
Hypertension (n [%])
Yes	110 (44)
BMI
Mean (SD)	27 (4.82)
Median (range)	26 (14–46)
Comorbid conditions (n [%])
Cerebrovascular accident (yes)	8 (3)
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (yes)	21 (8)
Dysrhythmia (atrial fibrillation)	11 (4)
Coronary artery disease (yes)	26 (10)

BMI, body mass index (weight [kg] divided by height [m²]); PAC, premature atrial contraction; PVC, premature ventricular contraction.

Table 2.

Self-Reported Knowledge of and Attitudes About Obstructive Sleep Apnea Held by 22 Primary Care Physicians

OSA Knowledge and Attitudes	Physicians
Total knowledge score (18 items)
Mean (SD)	14.2 (1.48)
Median (range)	14.0 (11.0–17.0)
Q1, Q3	13.0, 15.0
Clinical importance of OSA (mean [SD])	4.0 (0.62)
1. Not important	0 (0)
2. Somewhat important	0 (0)
3. Important	4 (18)
4. Very important	14 (64)
5. Extremely important	4 (18)
Importance of identification (mean [SD])	4.0 (0.65)
1. Not important	0 (0)
2. Somewhat important	0 (0)
3. Important	5 (23)
4. Very important	10 (45)
5. Extremely important	7 (32)
Confidence with identification^* (mean [SD])	3.8 (0.69)
1. Strongly disagree	0 (0)
2. Disagree	1 (5)
3. Neither agree nor disagree	5 (23)
4. Agree	14 (64)
5. Strongly agree	2 (9)
Confidence with management (mean [SD])	3.4 (0.85)
1. Strongly disagree	0 (0)
2. Disagree	4 (18)
3. Neither agree nor disagree	6 (27)
4. Agree	11 (50)
5. Strongly agree	1 (5)

Values are n (%) unless otherwise indicated.
↵* Percentages total >100% because of rounding.
OSA, obstructive sleep apnea; Q1, first quartile (25th percentile); Q3, third quartile (75th percentile).

Table 3.

Responses of Patients to 10 Berlin Questionnaire Items Regarding Sleep Dysfunction*^†

Questions and Responses	Patients
1. Do you snore? (n = 249)
Yes	134 (54)
No	77 (31)
Don't know	38 (15)
2. If you snore, your snoring is: (n = 129)
Slightly louder than breathing	64 (50)
As loud as talking	44 (34)
Louder than talking	7 (5)
Very loud, can be heard in adjacent rooms	14 (11)
3. How often do you snore? (n = 120)^†
Nearly every day	44 (37)
3–4 times a week	26 (22)
1–2 times a week	29 (24)
1–2 times a month	18 (15)
Never or nearly never	3 (3)
4. Has your snoring ever bothered other people? (n = 132)
Yes	78 (59)
No	54 (41)
5. Has anyone noticed that you quit breathing during sleep? (n = 120)^†
Nearly every day	2 (2)
3–4 times a week	2 (2)
1–2 times a week	3 (3)
1–2 times a month	4 (3)
Never or nearly never	109 (91)
6. How often do you feel tired or fatigued after your sleep? (n = 244)
Nearly every day	43 (18)
3–4 times a week	28 (11)
1–2 times a week	41 (17)
1–2 times a month	37 (15)
Never or nearly never	95 (39)
7. During your waking time, do you feel tired, fatigued, or not up to par? (n = 242)^†
Nearly every day	39 (16)
3–4 times a week	33 (14)
1–2 times a week	43 (18)
1–2 times a month	48 (20)
Never or nearly never	79 (33)
8. Have you ever nodded off or fallen asleep while driving a vehicle? (n = 247)
Yes	30 (12)
No	217 (88)
9. If yes (nodded off or fallen asleep while driving), how often? (n = 29)^†
1–2 times a week	4 (14)
1–2 times a month	6 (21)
Never or nearly never	19 (66)
10. Do you have high blood pressure? (n = 245)
Yes	88 (36)
No	151 (62)
Don't know	6 (2)