Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in the general population: A systematic review

Abstract

With this systematic review we aimed to determine the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults in the general population and how it varied between population sub-groups. Twenty-four studies out of 3807 found by systematically searching PubMed and Embase databases were included in this review. Substantial methodological heterogeneity in population prevalence studies has caused a wide variation in the reported prevalence, which, in general, is high. At ≥5 events/h apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), the overall population prevalence ranged from 9% to 38% and was higher in men. It increased with increasing age and, in some elderly groups, was as high as 90% in men and 78% in women. At ≥15 ..