Call made for help to fight sleep disorder

Christchurch medical specialists are calling for greater investment in sleep apnoea treatment, as research reveals the condition costs New Zealand $40 million every year.

The Massey University study, the first to quantify the cost of sleep apnoea to the nation, found the condition cost $40m a year, or $419 a case, through lost production, medical costs and an increased risk of accidents and illnesses, such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and respiratory failure.

Medical specialists at Christchurch Hospital said drivers with sleep apnoea could pose a threat behind the wheel, but urgent patients were waiting months for treatment.

Sleep apnoea, the disruption of sleep due to blocked airways, affects at least 16,000 New Zealand adults. Symptoms can cause people to fall asleep during the day.

It can be treated with a machine called Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). About 1200 Cantabrians are on CPAP machines, with 400 new patients each year.

Dr Michael Hlavac, the director of Sleep Services at Christchurch Hospital, said people with sleep apnoea who drove were of particular concern.

However, patients were waiting six months to be seen at the under-resourced service, and three months for a sleep study or a machine to help treat the condition.

"We just don't have the staff to set people up with them. It's quite a labour-intensive process giving people the machines," he said.

The number of people with the condition was on the rise because of increasing obesity rates, he said.

The study said sleep disorders led to increased morbidity and accidents.

"As accidents generate 59 per cent of the total costs, efforts should be made to reduce this rate," it said.

Dr Michael Epton, respiratory physician and president of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, said there was a clear link between sleep apnoea and car and workplace accidents.

"We are only seeing the very small tip of a large iceberg," he said. "In the immediate sense, the sleepy person on the road is dangerous and hence there are life-and-death issues here."

A business case to provide a more comprehensive service had been presented to the Canterbury District Health Board. Board planning and funding general manager Carolyn Gullery said it was being considered as part of a redesign of the board's respiratory services.

- © Fairfax NZ News