The prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) has not been assessed in Iraq. The current study is an attempt to assess the prevalence of individuals who were at risk of OSA in the primary health care centers in Baghdad city using Berlin questionnaire. The study also attempted to assess the relation between some individual demographic variables with the risk of OSA. A cross-sectional study was conducted in six primary health care centers in Baghdad city, the sample include all individuals who attended the centers and were more than 30 years old and not included by the exclusion criteria of the study for the period from beginning of February to the end of May 2010. Data collected from 900 individuals (500 men and 400 women) who were interviewed directly using Berlin questionnaire. Prevalence of OSA was 39.56% and the risk of OSA has been found to increase with increasing of age, and it was associated significantly with the individuals' occupation. OSA risk has also been found to increase with increased neck circumference and to decrease with increasing its length. High risk was increased with presence of hypertension and obesity. The current study shows the importance of further studies to be done in this field especially analytic one. In addition to that, a well coordinated efforts need to be done by health care providers to help in providing a preventive and curative activities regarding this health problem.
Key words: Sleep Apnea, Prevalence of Symptoms, Risk Factors
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