In the March 2009 edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine a study was presented by Phillip Parks, MD, MPH regarding the dangers present in truck drivers who suffer from sleep apnea..
The study looked at 456 commercial drivers from 50 different employers, over a 15 month period. The study found that 78% of those drivers met the screening criteria for suspect of obstructive sleep apnea. The vast majority of these drivers were older and more obese, and had a higher average blood pressure.
Dr. Parks noted, “Although it is not surprising, it is concerning that we found that drivers with sleep apnea frequently minimize or underreport symptoms such as snoring and daytime sleepiness. In our study, the majority of truck drivers did not follow through on physician recommendation for sleep studies and sleep apnea treatment”. He concluded, as a result it is possible that many of the 14 million truck drivers on American roads have undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea.
Dr. Stefanos N. Kales, MD, MPH, Medical director of Employee and Industrial Medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance stated, “it is very likely that most of the drivers who did not comply with sleep studies or sleep apnea treatment sought medical certification from examiners who do not screen for sleep apnea and are driving with untreated or inadequately treated sleep apnea.
Currently the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is considering requiring sleep apnea screening for all obese drivers based on body mass index or “BMI”. However, at this time there is no requirement that sleep apnea screening be performed as part of the medical certification.
