Objective

Previous studies have shown that treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy in patients with depression may improve depression symptoms and response to antidepressant therapy. We investigated the association between PAP therapy adherence, self-harm events, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and costs over 2 years in a national sample of patients with pre-existing depression and newly diagnosed comorbid OSA.

Methods

Administrative claims data were linked to objective PAP therapy usage. Inverse probability treatment weighting was used to compare outcomes over 2 years across PAP adherence levels. The predicted numbers of emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations by adherence level were assessed using risk-adjusted generalized linear models.

Results

37,459 patients were included. Relative to non-adherent patients, consistently adherent patients had fewer self-harm events (0.04 vs 0.05, p < 0.001) after 1 year, and significantly (all p < 0.001) fewer ER visits (0.66 vs 0.86) and all-cause hospitalizations (0.13 vs 0.17), and lower total ($11,847 vs $11,955), inpatient hospitalization ($1634 vs $2274), and ER visit ($760 vs $1006) costs per patient in the second year of PAP therapy. Consistently adherent patients showed lower risk for hospitalizations and ER visits.

Limitations

Using observational claims data, we were unable to assess clinical characteristics including sleep, sleepiness, and daytime symptoms, or important social determinants of health. We were limited in assessing care received outside of the included health plans.

Conclusion

Consistent adherence to PAP therapy over 2 years was associated with improved HCRU outcomes for patients with pre-existing depression newly diagnosed with comorbid OSA.

Background

Positive airway pressure (PAP) has become a prominent treatment for children with sleep-disordered breathing. However, there are no large-scale studies to clarify whether PAP is well tolerated in children, and which factors are associated with better adherence to PAP therapy. In this study, we aimed to clarify adherence patterns of PAP therapy in a large paediatric population.

Methods

We did a cross-sectional big-data analysis in children from Oct 1, 2014, to Aug 1, 2018, using existing data derived from PAP devices uploaded nightly in the AirView cloud database. The AirView database is a usage tracking system available to all patients who are assigned PAP therapy, which requires consent from the patient or parent or guardian. All patients older than 4 years and younger than 18 years who used continuous or automated PAP devices were evaluated. Only patients living in the USA and enrolled with a single insurance company were included. If patients were participating in an engagement programme, programme onset must have been within 7 days of therapy onset. Our primary outcome was the proportion of patients who used PAP continuously over 90 days. The primary outcome was assessed in all patients who met the age inclusion criterion and had reliable age data available. Data on missing PAP use were imputed as zero, but data on other metrics were not imputed and excluded from analysis.

Findings

We used data recorded from Oct 1, 2014, to Aug 1, 2018. Of 40 140 children screened, 36 058 (89·8%) were US residents and 20 553 (90·1%) of them met the eligibility criteria and had accessible data (mean age 13·0 years [SD 3·7]). On the basis of 90 days of monitoring data, 12 699 (61·8%) patients continuously used PAP. Factors significantly associated with adherence included age group, residual apnoea-hypopnoea index, use and onset of patient engagement programmes, PAP pressure, and nightly median PAP mask leak, all over the 90-day study period.

Interpretation

To our knowledge, our study represents the largest analysis of children using PAP therapy to date. The findings suggest that adherence to PAP therapy is lower than in previous reports from adults. However, numerous actionable factors were associated with improvements in adherence and should be used strategically in clinical decision making to improve PAP adherence in children.

Funding

ResMed.

Background

Randomized controlled trials have failed to demonstrate an effect of CPAP therapy on mortality. However, these studies have a number of important limitations, including low CPAP adherence, patient selection, and a small number of mortality events.

Research question

What are the effects of CPAP therapy termination in the first year on all-cause mortality in patients with OSA from the Nationwide Claims Data Lake for Sleep Apnea study?

Study design and methods

Data from the Système National des Données de Santé (SNDS) database, the French national health insurance reimbursement system, for all new CPAP users ≥ 18 years of age were analyzed. The SNDS contains comprehensive, individualized, and anonymized data on health spending reimbursements for > 99% of all individuals living in France. OSA diagnosis was based on specific disease codes, whereas CPAP prescription was identified using specific treatment method codes. CPAP therapy termination was defined as the cessation of CPAP reimbursements triggered by the respiratory physician or sleep specialist in charge of follow-up. Patients who terminated therapy in the first year were propensity score matched with those who continued to use CPAP. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Three-year survival was visualized using Kaplan-Meier curves. Contributors to mortality also were determined.

Results

Data from two matched groups each including 88,007 patients were included (mean age, 60 years; 64% men). Continuation of CPAP therapy was associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause death compared with CPAP therapy termination (hazard ratio [HR], 0.61; 95% CI, 0.57-0.65; P < .01, log-rank test). Incident heart failure also was less common in patients who continued vs terminated CPAP therapy (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.71-0.82; P < .01).

Interpretation

These real-world data from a comprehensive, unbiased database highlight the potential for ongoing use of CPAP treatment to reduce all-cause mortality in patients with OSA.