by Colin Kenny, GP, Dromore
NICE has noted that people with OSA may have impaired alertness, cognitive impairment and excessive daytime sleepiness. This can have effects on both health and driving. In the current study, 150 CPAP-treated individuals with OSA and type 2 diabetes were randomly selected from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) general practice database and matched with 150 people with OSA and type 2 diabetes from the same database who were not treated with CPAP. The researchers looked at outcomes of patient management in both groups over 5 years, and the cost-effectiveness of CPAP compared with no CPAP treatment was estimated.
CPAP gave significantly lower blood pressure at 5 years and increasingly lower HbA1c levels over consecutive years compared with untreated individuals with OSA. The CPAP intervention was judged to be cost-effective. While we await a prospective trial, it would appear to be worthwhile sending people with type 2 diabetes who have OSA for an assessment for CPAP.
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