The Impact of Marital Status and Race in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Abstract

Objectives To examine the difference in survival of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) based on marital status and race. Methods A single academic institution with data collection from 2005 to 2015. Patients with a diagnosis of OSA based on polysomnogram were abstracted from electronic medical records. Patients were classified as “married” or “unmarried.” Race was self-reported as White, Black, Asian American, Hispanic/Latinx, Middle Eastern descent, or unrecorded and gathered from the electronic medical record. Results There were 6200 adults included. Of these, married patients composed 62.7% (n = 3890) of the patients. Patients were 51.3% White (n = 3182), 39.8% (n = 2467) were Black, and 8.9% (n = 551) were other/unrecorded. Married patients had better survival probabilities ( p < .0001). Unmarried patients had 2.72 times the risk of death than those who were married (95% CI 1.78–4.20) when examining OSA survival. When examining survival of those on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) between married and unmarried patients, those who were unmarried had 2.00 (95% CI 1.58–2.54) times the risk of death than those who were married. Married Black patients demonstrated the best survival probabilities, followed by married White patients ( p < .0001). Married patients had lower mean sleep efficiency than those that were unmarried (76.2% and 77.2%, respectively; p = .019). Conclusion Married patients with OSA had increased survival compared to their single counterparts. Married Black patients had the highest survival.