Sleep Apnea Surgery Linked to Lower Risk for Car Accidents for Patients

TUESDAY, Jan. 28, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), sleep surgery is associated with a significantly reduced risk for motor vehicle accidents (MVA) compared with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy or no treatment, according to a study published online Jan. 21 in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Elliott M. Sina, from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study using a national clinical database to compare the incidence of MVAs among patients with OSA undergoing CPAP therapy or no treatment and sleep surgery (including uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and hypoglossal nerve stimulation). Data were included for 2,832,437 patients with OSA.

The researchers found that the incidence of MVAs was significantly lower for patients with OSA undergoing sleep surgery compared with the OSA + CPAP cohort and the no-treatment group (3.403 versus 6.072 and 4.662 percent, respectively). For MVA incidence, the odds ratio was 1.214 in the no-treatment group versus the OSA + sleep surgery cohort; the odds ratio was 0.545 for the OSA + sleep surgery cohort versus the CPAP cohort. The likelihood of having comorbidities including hypertension, diabetes, and heart failure following the accident was increased for patients with OSA who experienced MVAs.

“In appropriate candidates, surgery should be considered as an intervention to help reduce the public health impact of preventable accidents,” the authors write.

Two authors disclosed ties to the medical technology and medical supplement industries.

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