290,000 at high risk of sleep apnea in the province
How long you wait to get into a sleep clinic in Regina or Saskatoon to be diagnosed for sleep apnea depends in part on your occupation.
“If it’s a truck driver who needs to be on the road a lot, he’s going to get more priority than the person who sits at their desk,” said Jaimie Peters, a registered nurse and certified respiratory educator with the Lung Association of Saskatchewan.
Sleep apnea is a breathing problem that interrupts your sleep.
“When you’re sleeping, you have short pauses in your breathing called apneas and those apneas can last for 10 to 30 seconds or even longer in some people,” Peters said. “People can actually stop breathing dozens or hundreds of times a night, which leads to sleep disruption and low levels of oxygen.”
Someone suspected of having sleep apnea can wait anywhere from a couple of weeks to two years to get an appointment at the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region’s sleep lab to confirm the diagnosis.
Waits for Saskatoon Health Region’s sleep lab range from four to six months. However, clients can receive a take-home test within two weeks.
Snoring followed by silent pauses and daytime sleepiness are strong indicators for sleep apnea. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should see their doctor and ask to be referred to a respirologist.
“As people get more overweight, there is more of a risk for sleep apnea,” Peters said.
“Our society is getting more overweight, so we’re probably going to see more sleep apnea.”
In some ways, it’s a chicken-andegg dilemma, she said.
“When people have sleep apnea, they’re not sleeping as well and when you’re not sleeping well, you’re gaining weight,” Peters said. “It’s a vicious cycle. When we’re tired, we end up eating more.”
A recent Canadian Public Health Agency survey indicates 26 per cent of adults are at high risk for sleep apnea, which equates to about 290,000 residents in Saskatchewan.
Children can also suffer from sleep apnea. Obesity can play a role, but they might also have large adenoids and tonsils that interfere with breathing.
The lung association applauds the provincial government’s decision to reverse a decision made earlier this year to limit coverage for sleep apnea services. Beginning Oct. 1, patients requiring continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines will be able to purchase a machine at a discount made available through the Saskatchewan government’s bulk purchasing process.
If sleep apnea goes untreated, the consequences can be very serious.
On Tuesday, Dr. Mark Fenton, a respirologist and sleep physician, will do a sleep apnea presentation in the auditorium of Saskatoon’s City Hospital at 7 p.m.
Dr. Prakash Patel, a respirologist and sleep physician, will speak at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at a sleep apnea support group at Regent Place Library, 331 Albert St.
Related medical conditions that could develop if sleep apnea is untreated include high blood pressure, cardiac problems, stroke, a vehicle collision due to sleepiness, a work-related injury from operating equipment while sleepy and decreased quality of life.
Diagnosing sleep apnea requires nighttime sleep tests done in the sleep labs in Regina and Saskatoon. Aside from the sleep clinics run by the health regions, some private companies also provide testing.
“You want to shop around for different prices and for accessibility,” Peters said. “Make sure that they’re using a Saskatchewan respirologist to do their readings. This is a business and you need to be a good consumer when you’re looking around for those tests.”