Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the risk and symptoms for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among Saudi Arabian adults. This cross-sectional survey among healthy participants was conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical City-Riyadh (KAMC-R). The Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) was used to assess the risk of OSA, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was used to measure excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) as a manifestation of OSA in participants. The total number of participants was 2095, mean age of the sample was 42.3 (+/- 15.5) years and 848 (40.7%) were females. Using BQ, 31.9% of the participants were classified as high risk for OSA (33.4% among females and 31.1% among males). The risk for OSA increased with age: 19.4% among the young group (<= 29 years), 35.2% among the middle-aged (30-59 years), and 41% among the elderly (>= 60 years). The risk of symptomatic OSA by combining both BQ and ESS was 7.8% and increased with age (5.5% among the young group, 8.5% among the middle-aged, and 9.7% among the elderly), but there was no difference between gender (8% among females vs. 7.7% among males). This study showed that the risk for OSA is very high, is equal in both genders and it increases with age and obesity.