Sleep apnoea estimated to affect one billion people
It is now more prevalent than the 'big five' respiratory diseases, says expert
17th July 2019
Almost one billion people aged 30-69 have obstructive sleep apnoea across the globe, researchers say – a figure 10 times higher than previous estimates.
Researchers, including Australia’s Professor Peter Eastwood, reviewed the results of 17 studies, covering 16 countries and 15,000 people, and matched them to countries without data based on international statistics for BMI, sex, race and age, plus geographical proximity.
They concluded that 936 million people had mild to severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), defined as an apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) of
