April 25, 2022.
National Center for Health Research’s Comments on U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s Draft Recommendation on Screening for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults
We are writing to express our views on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s (USPSTF) draft recommendation for screening for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Asymptomatic Adults.
The National Center for Health Research (NCHR) is a nonprofit think tank that conducts, analyzes, and scrutinizes research on a range of health issues, with particular focus on which prevention strategies and treatments are most effective for which patients and consumers. We do not accept funding from companies that make products that are the subject of our work, so we have no conflicts of interest.
Despite the recent increase in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), we agree with the “I” grade recommendation for OSA screening in asymptomatic adults or those with unrecognized symptoms, as there is currently insufficient evidence to assess the benefits and harms of screening. Not only are the available screening questionnaires not adequately validated for the use in the general population, there are also no available data evaluating the effect of screening on health outcomes for asymptomatic adults.
We also concur with USPSTF that more data on the progression of OSA in asymptomatic adults, as well as assessment tools that can help accurately assess which populations would most likely benefit from OSA screening are needed.
We also agree with the research needs and gaps identified by USPSTF. In particular, given that OSA is more prevalent in Black, Native American and Latino populations, more research is needed on the benefits and harms of screening on health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease events and quality of life for diverse groups of asymptomatic adults.
The National Center for Health Research can be reached at info@center4research.org or at (202) 223-4000.