Treating Sleep Apnea with CPAP Halts the Progressive Increase in Patient Healthcare Costs

Overall physician visits and fees increase in the five years leading up to a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea and then decrease over the next five years of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP.

The study results are published in the October 1 issue of the journal Sleep.

The largest drop in visits and fees occurs during the second year of treatment.

CPAP results in a long-term health benefit, as measured by the use of healthcare services, the authors write.

Sleep is the official journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. Go online to www.journalsleep.org for more information.