Having Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is not only devastating for one’s health; it can also be quite costly. According to a recent study which analyzed the health care costs of 158 elderly and 1,166 middle aged patients (67-89 and 40-64 years) with OSA as well as age-matched people without OSA, in Israel, it was found that in the 2 year period before diagnosis, health costs were nearly twice as high for those with OSA compared with those without OSA. They also found that among OSA sufferers health costs were almost twice as high for elderly patients when compared with middle aged patients. There analysis also revealed that cardiovascular illness and the use of psychoactive medications were largely to blame for the increase in health care costs.
J of American geriatric Society Jan 2008; vol 56 (2); p247-254