A population-based estimate of the health care burden of obstructive sleep apnea using a STOP-BAG questionnaire in South Carolina.

Study Objectives: Population based estimates of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) frequency and health impact are incomplete. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of risk factors for physician and sleep study diagnosed OSA among individuals in a state-based surveillance program.

Methods: Using questions inserted into the 2016 (n = 5,564) and 2017 (n = 10,884) South Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we analyzed the prevalence of physician diagnosed OSA and associated comorbidities.

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited.

Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19.

Design, Setting, And Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin.

Thrombotic risk in COVID-19: a case series and case-control study.

Background: A possible association between COVID-19 infection and thrombosis, either as a direct consequence of the virus or as a complication of inflammation, is emerging in the literature. Data on the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) are extremely limited.

Methods: We describe three cases of thromboembolism refractory to heparin treatment, the incidence of VTE in an inpatient cohort, and a case-control study to identify risk factors associated with VTE.

Hypnosis in the clinical setting.

Therapeutic hypnosis has been in use for hundreds of years, yet it is still is still relatively unknown as a therapeutic modality and underutilized by health care professionals. Nurse practitioners are in a unique position to bring hypnosis into the forefront of our work with patients and clients in most clinical settings. The author aims to introduce nurse practitioners to the potential and possibilities of incorporating hypnosis into individual treatment plans.

Study design considerations for sleep-disordered breathing devices.

In recent years, sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) has been recognized as a prevalent but under-diagnosed condition in adults and has prompted the need for new and better diagnostic and therapeutic options. To facilitate the development and availability of innovative, safe and effective SDB medical device technologies for patients in the United States, the US Food and Drug Administration collaborated with six SDB-related professional societies and a consumer advocacy organization to convene a public workshop focused on clinical investigations of SDB devices. Sleep medicine experts discussed appropriate definitions of terms used in the diagnosis and treatment of SDB, the use of home sleep testing versus polysomnography, clinical trial design issues in studying SDB devices, and current and future trends in digital health technologies for diagnosis and monitoring SDB.

Sleep-deprived motor vehicle operators are unfit to drive: a multidisciplinary expert consensus statement on drowsy driving.

Objectives: This article presents the consensus findings of the National Sleep Foundation Drowsy Driving Consensus Working Group, which was an expert panel assembled to establish a consensus statement regarding sleep-related driving impairment.

Methods: The National Sleep Foundation assembled a expert panel comprised of experts from the sleep community and experts appointed by stakeholder organizations. A systematic literature review identified 346 studies that were abstracted and provided to the panelists for review.

Cigarette Smoking, Reduction and Quit Attempts: Prevalence Among Veterans With Coronary Heart Disease.

Introduction: Cigarette smoking increases the risk of illness and early death for people with coronary heart disease. In 2010, Brown estimated prevalence rates for smoking among veterans and nonveterans with or without coronary heart disease in the United States, based on the 2003 through 2007 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Recent changes in BRFSS methods promise more accurate estimates for veterans.

Adrenal surgery in England: better outcomes in high-volume practices.

Aims And Background: Adrenal surgery is performed by a variety of surgical specialities in differing environments and volumes. International data suggest that there is a correlation between adrenal surgery volume and outcomes but there are no UK data to support this or UK surgical guidelines. A multidisciplinary team representing the stakeholders in adrenal disease is preparing a national guidance on adrenal surgery.

Surveyed Enrollees in Veterans Affairs Health Care: How They Differ From Eligible Veterans Surveyed by BRFSS.

Objectives: We described differences in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics between Veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Veterans eligible to enroll for Veterans Affairs health care. Knowledge of these differences is important in planning better services for Veterans who enroll and in encouraging additional enrollment.

Methods: We compared characteristics of enrollees and eligible Veterans in 2012.

Echocardiographic findings and plasma endothelin-1 levels in obese patients with and without obstructive sleep apnea.

Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and obesity are increasingly prevalent worldwide. Both promote endothelial dysfunction contributing to systemic and pulmonary hypertension over time. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) plays a pivotal role in the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Sitting and television viewing: novel risk factors for sleep disturbance and apnea risk? results from the 2013 National Sleep Foundation Sleep in America Poll.

Background: Excess sitting is emerging as a novel risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental illness, and all-cause mortality. Physical activity, distinct from sitting, is associated with better sleep and lower risk for OSA, yet relationships among sitting behaviors and sleep/OSA remain unknown. We examined whether total sitting time and sitting while viewing television were associated with sleep duration and quality, OSA risk, and sleepiness.

Treatment of chronic insomnia disorder in menopause: evaluation of literature.

Objective: Insomnia both as a symptom and as part of chronic insomnia disorder is quite common in menopause. Comorbid conditions, such as restless legs syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea, occur with high prevalence among perimenopausal women with insomnia. Insomnia in this population group is associated with adverse health outcomes, and there are no clear standards on how to treat it.

Does nighttime exercise really disturb sleep? Results from the 2013 National Sleep Foundation Sleep in America Poll.

Objective: To assess the relationship between sleep, time of exercise, and intensity of exercise in a large American sample.

Methods: The 2013 National Sleep Foundation Sleep in America Poll was a cross-sectional study of 1000 adults stratified by age (23–60 years) and U.S.

Comparison of BMI, AHI, and apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE-ε4) alleles among sleep apnea patients with different skeletal classifications.

Study Objectives: This case-control study investigated whether variations within the APOE-ε gene were associated with having a convex facial profile (skeletal Class II) compared to exhibiting a straight or concave facial profile (Class I or Class III) among patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Associations between the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and body mass index (BMI) scores for these OSA patients were also examined in the context of facial profile.

Method: OSA patients with an AHI ≥ 15 were recruited from a sleep clinic and classified by facial and dental occlusal relationships based on a profile facial analysis, lateral photographs, and dental examination.