Heard a funny observation this morning on the way into work: you ever wonder why there are people who are bound to a wheelchair, yet they somehow find a way to push themselves across the street with their feet, all the while remaining seated in the chair?
Then I picked through the morning's literature review, and the disabled wheelchair riders may be similar to patients suffering a sleep breathing epidemic. The increase in middle-age and elderly population's use of medication "sleep aids," and the rising prevalence in sleep disordered breathing that goes undiagnosed. It is a silent epidemic on the rise, and those who suffer it may be able to navigate through their lives with no clear understanding of their breathing disability.
In recent studies, it was observed that over 90% of women and over 80% of men with moderate to severe obstructed breathing disorders were living undiagnosed prior to survey.
Middle age and elderly individuals have a greater prevalence of sleep breathing disorders, most of them being obstructive sleep breathing type. Many sufferers have other associated conditions that make their condition worse, like the rising prevalence of chronic allergic rhinitis and sinus congestion, and the rising incidence of obesity.
With that being said, I have witnessed a great number of patients in my practice that are candidates for a sleep breathing evaluation. And a majority of those patients I refer are confirmed with sleep breathing disorders by our specialists.
We routinely screen our patients for a risk of airway obstruction. Call us today for an appointment.
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