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Sleep apnea

How common is sleep apnea?

We're not quite sure how many people have sleep apnea, because it often goes undiagnosed.

One study found that:

Source:
Young T, Palta M, Dempsey J, et al.
The occurrence of sleep-disordered breathing among middle-aged adults.
New England Journal of Medicine. 1993; 328: 1230-123.

A quarter of men and 1 in 10 women had episodes where they stopped breathing more than five times an hour
4 in 100 men and 2 in 100 women stopped breathing more than five times an hour and were extremely sleepy during the day.

Sources for the information on this page:

Young T, Palta M, Dempsey J, et al.The occurrence of sleep-disordered breathing among middle-aged adults.New England Journal of Medicine. 1993; 328: 1230-123.

This information was last updated on Jul 09, 2009

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