Undiagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers: Application of STOP-Bang

Although several studies have estimated the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver population, limitations such as small sample sizes and study samples that are not representative of the STOP-Bang is a subjective and objective screening tool that assesses snoring, tiredness, observed apneas, hypertension, Body Mass Index (BMI), age, neck circumference, and gender. This study investigated the potential benefit of using a modified version of the STOP-Bang questionnaire to screen for OSA in the CMV population using data from the Commercial Driver Safety Risk Factors (CDSRF) study. Using the modified version of the STOP-Bang, 10 times more drivers (897 vs. 9,382) in the CDSRF study were classified as screening high for OSA (i.e., OSA Potential). Although these drivers moved from the No OSA group to the Potential OSA group, analyses using Poisson regression models still found that the OSA Diagnosed: Treated group had a significantly lower crash rate compared to the No OSA group. The efficacy of the STOP-Bang in screening for OSA in this population should be further evaluated.