Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of individuals at high risk for developing obstructive sleep apnea in the Pakistani population using a validated questionnaire.
Materials and methods
This is a cross-sectional survey using a pre-validated, interviewer-administered questionnaire conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital. All healthy individuals above 18 years of age attending a seminar were included as participants after consent.
Results
The percentage of people in the high-risk group was calculated to be 12.4% out of a population of 137. Presence of snoring, hypertension, and body mass index >27.5 kg/m2 was found to be more prevalent in high-risk individuals.
Conclusions
A significant proportion of the population is at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
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Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests. The authors declare that they received no funding for this study.
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Taj, F., Aly, Z., Arif, O. et al. Risk for sleep apnea syndrome in Pakistan: a cross-sectional survey utilizing the Berlin questionnaire. Sleep Breath 13, 103–106 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-008-0220-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-008-0220-8