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Truckers Drive Their Own Assessment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Collaborative Approach to Online Self-Assessment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Ben Smith, MS, North Carolina State University Gary Hull, TFAC/AWAKE Bob Stanton, TFAC/AWAKE Barbara Phillips, MD, MSPH, FCCP, University of Kentucky.
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Truckers Drive Their Own Assessment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A CollaborativeApproach to Online Self-Assessment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Ben Smith, MS, North Carolina State University Gary Hull, TFAC/AWAKE Bob Stanton, TFAC/AWAKE Barbara Phillips, MD, MSPH, FCCP, University of Kentucky
Disclosures • Benjamin Smith: • IBM PhD Fellowship • NSF Career Grant No. 0346903 • Gary Hull-None • Bob Stanton-None • Barbara Phillips: • Department of Transportation, FMCSA • Cephalon • PriMed (funded by ResMed, Philips) • Barnwell, Whaley, LLC
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers (CMVDs) • Approximately 5,600 people are killed every year in crashes with commercial motor vehicles. • Between 20 and 30% of crashes with CMVDs are sleep-related (Akerstedt T J Sleep Res 2000) • At least 25% of CMVDs have OSA (Pack A AJRCCM 2006)
Commercial Drivers Carry Increased Risk for Crash They may • operate larger vehicles • transport hazardous materials • carry multiple passengers • operate for longer stretches of time • have an economic incentive to continue driving when private drivers may choose to stop for a medical reason or road conditions.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Regulates CMVD’s
Background/Rationale Based on an evidence review • The FMCSA Medical Expert Panel recommended that CMVDs undergo testing for OSA if • they have a positive Berlin Questionnaire and/or • BMI >33 kg/m2. • The FMCSA Medical Review Board recommended that CMVDs undergo testing for OSA if • they have a positive Berlin Questionnaire and/or • BMI >30 kg/m2.
Development of Collaboration • Truckers for a Cause- Alert, Well, And Keeping Energetic (TFAC-AWAKE), responding to requests from participants, desired to host a screener for OSA on its website. • TFAC-AWAKE leader sought help with website screener development. • Collaborators agreed to publish the anonymous results. • The study was exempted by UK IRB.
Methods • We adapted the Berlin Questionnaire (Netzer NC Ann Intern Med 1999) to be taken online. • TFAC-AWAKE hosted the survey on their website. • TFAC’s XM radio, word of mouth and trucking industry press contacts offered promotion. • We collected IP addresses to ensure that each participant only took the survey once, but we collected no other identifying data.
The Berlin Questionnaire (Netzer NC Annals 1999) • I: Snoring • Do you snore? • How loud do you snore? • How often do you snore? • Has your snoring ever bothered other people? • Has anyone noticed that you quit breathing during your sleep? • How often do you feel tired or fatigued after your sleep? • During your waking time, do you feel fatigued, or not up to par? • Have you ever nodded off or fallen asleep while driving a vehicle? • Do you have high blood pressure? • What is your BMI? • II: Sleepiness • III: Objective
The Berlin Questionnaire (Netzer NC Annals 1999) • Do you snore? • How loud do you snore? • How often do you snore? • Has your snoring ever bothered other people? • Has anyone noticed that you quit breathing during your sleep? • How often do you feel tired or fatigued after your sleep? • During your waking time, do you feel fatigued, or not up to par? • Have you ever nodded off or fallen asleep while driving a vehicle? • Do you have high blood pressure? • What is your BMI?
Aims and Hypotheses • Aims • to determine if truckers would assess their OSA risk online. • to collect demographic data from self-selected truckers. • Hypotheses • those with OSA symptoms (snoring, sleepiness) would be more likely to report drowsy driving, but • objective data (BMI, hypertension history) would predict sleepy driving better than would subjective data.
Data analysis • The website was active to collect data from January 11, 2010 until September 24, 2010. • We performed Logistic Regression Analyses using the R statistical package.
Results • 595 of CMVDs took the survey • 55.9% positive on overall Berlin • 78.3% positive on objective (BMI, bp) part • 69.6% had a BMI > 30 Kg/m 2 • 47.6% had BMI > 33 Kg/m 2 • 20.5% reported falling asleep while driving (on Berlin)
Conclusions • This was a unique and interesting collaboration! • Truckers willingly assess their OSA risk online. • The rate of obesity is high in this group. • More than two-thirds of those who do so would be required to undergo polysomnography (PSG) if suggested guidelines become regulation. • Subjective symptoms were associated with sleepy driving, but objective findings were not. • Sleep health professionals need to develop expedient, non-punitive tools to keep CMVDs healthy and driving.
OSA Increases the Risk of Crash (FMCSA, 2007, Tregear S, JCSM 2009)