Wake-up call for $40m sleep disorder problem

For 15 years Barry Avery had sleepless nights and extreme tiredness before sleep apnoea was diagnosed.

Mr Avery, 60, a Nelson business owner, would be relentlessly woken with a jolt by the disorder that blocked his airways, leaving him exhausted.

It caused him to fall asleep during the day, in the middle of conversations and during films. He once dozed off in an expensive French restaurant while dining with his brother-in-law in London.

"He was talking to me and the next thing I nodded off," he said. "I'd never go into a deep sleep [during the night], I was waking up constantly.

"I couldn't get out of bed in the morning, I was constantly tired."

He is one of 16,000 adults, or 4 per cent of the population, estimated to have sleep apnoea.

Research shows it is costing at least $40 million a year - $419 for each case - in lost production and medical costs.

The study, by Massey University's Sleep Wake Research Centre, also highlights the cost of accidents and related illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and respiratory failure.

The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand and specialists are calling on the Health Ministry for more funding and urgent improvements in clinical services.

Mr Avery said he could not take any time off work as he was self-employed - but would have liked to.

His disorder was diagnosed several years ago when his doctor referred him to the Wellington sleep clinic.

He now sleeps in a mask while hooked up to a continuous positive airway pressure machine, which provides a steady supply of oxygen. "From that day on it's changed my life," he said. "I am now more alert and awake."

Thoracic Society president Michael Epton said district health board sleep centres were being run at half-capacity. There was not enough money to pay for treatment.

Doing something about the problem would be more cost-effective for the whole health system.

"It is senseless and totally uneconomic to continue as we are.

"The ongoing underdiagnosis and treatment is causing thousands of people to feel constantly tired and lethargic, and puts them at risk of other serious health problems."

Ministry spokeswoman Sandy Dawson said the disorder was increasingly diagnosed in New Zealand because of more obesity.

Health boards needed to balance treatment with prevention when providing services for people with sleep disorders, such as advice on improving nutrition and exercise.

- © Fairfax NZ News