DETROIT – Sleep disorders are usually underdiagnosed, particularly in underserved communities because access to sleep testing is expensive.
It’s also a fact that people living in lower-income areas face social situations that worsen sleep problems. Crowded housing, nighttime noise and light pollution, and anxiety related to crime or financial insecurity are just some of the things that can make a good night’s rest difficult.
According to Dr. Martha Kershaw, medical director of the HOPE clinic in Ypsilanti, medical problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity, which are both caused by and contribute to sleep disorders, are also more common in low-income populations. The HOPE clinic provides free medical care to the uninsured.
Dr. Galit Levi Dunietz, a University of Michigan Health epidemiologist in the Department of Neurology says, “The two most common sleep disorders are obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia, in obstructive sleep apnea we think that 20 percent of the population has it, but it is a very underdiagnosed condition.”
Recognizing how underdiagnosed sleep apnea is and the challenges facing an underserved population, she came up with a solution to help patients of the HOPE clinic. Since September 2021 they have provided free sleep apnea testing and free CPAP machines to their patients diagnosed with sleep apnea. The testing is done with a home sleep apnea testing device called the WATCH PAT. The device uses a finger sensor, a wrist sensor, and a sensor that sticks to the chest to collect sleep data for one night that is wirelessly sent to a smartphone app. The device can be prescribed by a doctor and purchased online, but the HOPE clinic has been able to provide them without charge to their patients.
“Patients are excited to have this service and we’ve been hearing that not only their mood has improved, their chronic diseases that they have alongside sleep apnea are improved,” said Dunitez.
Big picture, awareness of sleep apnea, regardless of insurance status is important. Important signs of sleep apnea include combinations of loud snoring, excessive daytime drowsiness, being overweight, having a large neck, and the presence of high blood pressure. There is a free questionnaire called the “STOP-BANG” that can help further identify a person’s risk. The questionnaire can be found here.
You can find more information on sleep apnea on the American Academy of Sleep Medicine website and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood institute website.
Sleep resource guide: Are you getting enough sleep? Could you have sleep apnea?