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. 2024 May 1;20(5):817-819.
doi: 10.5664/jcsm.10956.

Occult, undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea is associated with increased health care resource utilization and costs among older adults with comorbid depression: a retrospective cohort study among Medicare beneficiaries

Emerson M Wickwire  1   2 , Jennifer S Albrecht  3
Affiliations

Occult, undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea is associated with increased health care resource utilization and costs among older adults with comorbid depression: a retrospective cohort study among Medicare beneficiaries

Emerson M Wickwire et al. J Clin Sleep Med. .

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea and depression are highly comorbid among older adults, and each is associated with increased economic costs and health care resource utilization. The purpose of this study was to determine the economic burden of comorbid occult obstructive sleep apnea among a random sample of older adult Medicare beneficiaries in the United States. Among 41,500 participants with preexisting depression and meeting inclusion criteria, 4,573 (11%) had occult OSA. In fully adjusted models, beneficiaries with occult OSA were heavier users of inpatient (rate ratio: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.39, 1.67), outpatient (rate ratio: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.27), emergency department (rate ratio: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.35, 1.63), and prescription (rate ratio: 1.09; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.14) services. Mean total costs were also significantly higher among beneficiaries with occult OSA ($44,390; 95% CI: $32,076, $56,703).

Citation: Wickwire EM, Albrecht JS. Occult, undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea is associated with increased health care resource utilization and costs among older adults with comorbid depression: a retrospective cohort study among Medicare beneficiaries. J Clin Sleep Med. 2024;20(5):817-819.

Keywords: Medicare; costs; depression; health care resource utilization; older adults; sleep apnea.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have seen and approved this manuscript. This research was supported by an investigator-initiated grant awarded from the ResMed Foundation to The University of Maryland, Baltimore (Principal Investigator: E.M.W.). E.M.W.’s and J.S.A.’s institution has received research funding from the AASM Foundation, Department of Defense, Merck, ResMed, and the ResMed Foundation. E.M.W. has served as a scientific consultant to DayZz, Ensodata, Eisai, Idorsia, Merck, Nox Health, Primasun, Purdue, and ResMed and is an equity shareholder in WellTap. No other conflicts of interests are declared.

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