Utilization of health care services in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea.

We compared the health care utilization of 97 obese patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and 97 matched control subjects. Over a 2-year period that ended 2 years prior to initial diagnosis, the OSA group had 251 nights in hospital, compared to 90 nights for the control group. During the same 2-year period, total expenditures from physician claims were $82,238 (Canadian dollars) in the OSA patients versus $41,018 in the control group (p < 0.01). Depending upon which assumptions one uses for the calculation of hospital costs, during the same 2-year period, the 97 OSA patients utilized between $100,000 and $200,000 more in services than their control counterparts. We conclude that sleep apnea patients are already heavy consumers of health care services prior to any specific evaluation and treatment for apnea.