Sleep Apnea Virtually Undocumented Among Nursing Home Residents
Sleep apnea is a virtually undocumented condition in America's nursing homes, according to new research report from the Institute for the Future of Aging Services (IFAS). The
IFAS report is an analysis of data from the
2004 National Nursing Home Survey, which reviewed medical records of a representative sample of the 1.49 million nursing home residents in the U.S. Of these individuals, only half of one percent had sleep apnea documented on their medical records. The findings are in stark contrast to numerous, in-person studies of nursing home residents that clearly showed a high prevalence of sleep apnea in this population.
The research was presented at the American Thoracic Society's International Conference and is available in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.