Truck drivers with untreated sleep apnea have five times greater preventable crash risk than those who are being treated or do not have the ailment at all, a new study has found.

Driving trucks while drowsy is a dangerous thing. What's more, those with sleep problems may pose a much higher risk to public road safety.

"It's estimated that up to 20 percent of all large truck crashes are due to drowsy or fatigued driving, which would account for almost 9,000 fatalities and up to 220,000 serious injuries," says senior author Stefanos Kales from the Harvard Chan School.

Investigating Truckers With Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The study involved a total of 1,613 truck drivers diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and the same number of control driver participants, who had the same job experience and tenure as per a trucking firm.

The OSA group was recommended to undergo positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy and were provided with an auto-adjust device that could be used both at home or in the truck while driving.

The findings show that drivers with OSA who failed to adhere to PAP therapy had a five times higher risk of being involved in a preventable crash than those in the matched control group.

The rate of crash risk among those who totally or partially adhered to the therapy were statistically similar to those of the control group.

Lead author Stephen Burks from the University of Minnesota says the most surprising finding of the research is the strength and power of rate increase among drivers with sleep apnea who failed to adhere to the recommended treatment.

Implications Of Study Results

While commercial truckers undergo physical examinations twice in a year to identify if they are fit for the job, there are no existing laws that mandate OSA screening or diagnosis, partly due to the lack of studies that evaluate OSA risks among truck drivers.

Dr. Nathaniel Watson, the President of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine says that this research highlights the significant threat that untreated obstructive sleep apnea poses in the transportation safety sector. He adds that it is vital for transportation firms to carry out in-depth sleep apnea assessments and treatment programs to guarantee that their truck driver employees remain awake while driving.

The study was published in the journal Sleep on Monday.

Photo: Kim Scarborough | Flickr