Publication:

Factors affecting consultation and intervention for sleep disordered breathing

Background This study was to investigate the general public’s treatment preferences for sleep disordered breathing.

Methods Anonymous online questionnaire distributed using Amazon Mechanical Turk and the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ-10) responses were collected. The surveys of the respondents who met inclusion criteria were assessed in data analysis portion of the study. Descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and Pearson’s chi-squared tests were used to analyze data. This was a survey-based study conducted from October 2014 through June 2024.

Results Of 3,259 participants, 931 (28.6%) are formally diagnosed with sleep disordered breathing (SDB). 891 (95.7%) sought intervention; 40 (4.3%) did not. Nasal appliance (50.8%), oral appliance (38.8%), and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) (32.8%) were the three most preferred treatment modalities. Respondents who have romantic partners who complain of their symptoms were more likely to seek otolaryngology consult (p=0.0001) and surgical intervention (p=0.0087). Most respondents with formal diagnosis had seen an otolaryngologist and done research on their condition.

Conclusions This study describes the public’s preferences related to sleep disorders and the factors that dictate these preferences. Factors that influence this desire to pursue treatment include sex assigned at birth, marital status, and romantic partners who complain of symptoms.  Understanding these can help us better identify, understand, educate, intervene and improve the quality of life and health outcomes for patients.