Awareness of obstructive sleep apnea and its effects on daily life among health professionals from Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbances are be poorly documented by primary care physicians. OBJECTIVE: Our objective for this survey was to assess the awareness level amongst medical and dental house officers, medical and dental practitioners, and ear, nose and throat specialists (ENTs) regarding OSA and its effects on daily life. METHODS: This was a questionnaire-based survey with yes and no and true and false type questions. In order to assess knowledge, questions related to the most common signs and symptoms of OSA were selected. Questionnaires were distributed in seven medical and dental colleges in Karachi, Pakistan under graduates and above. Stratified random sampling technique was used to assess specific professionals which made a total sample size of 614. The data of this descriptive study was compiled and analyzed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: 84% of the participants stated their awareness about OSA. After analyzing a detailed response in the form of questionnaires, an average of only 15% showed adequate knowledge of the problem in question, the rest was unaware of the pathophysiology, signs, symptoms and management of a patient suffering from OSA. CONCLUSION: knowledge about pathophysiology of obstructive sleep apnea and its effect on daily routine work is insufficient among health professionals. It is essential to create awareness among medical and dental fraternity regarding OSA as it is often not diagnosed and treated.