Public release date: 24-Oct-2007

A new study evaluates the roles of gender and body measurements in the severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) requirements. Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital, in Texas, took multiple body measurements from 144 men and women with OSA. They found that patients’ neck circumference, rather than their body mass index (BMI), was more predictive of OSA severity, especially in women. Both neck circumference and BMI correlated to CPAP requirements.