TITLE:
Obstructive sleep apnea among commercial vehicle drivers in Malaysia: Issues and initiatives
AUTHORS:
Ameer Batcha Wahida, Othman Ilhamah, Ahmad Mohamad Suffian, Mohd Fahmi Aimi, Mohamed Norlen, Shaw Voon Wong
KEYWORDS:
OSA; Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Commercial Vehicle Drivers
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.5 No.8B,
August
20,
2013
ABSTRACT: Obstructive Sleep
Apnea (OSA) has been identified by many studies as one of the significant
contributing factors for motor vehicle accidents. However, only a small number
of studies have been conducted in Malaysia. Objective: This paper aims to
highlight the prevalence of OSA among truck drivers and express bus drivers in
Malaysia and efforts being undertaken to address issues related to OSA among
commercial vehicle drivers. Methodology: Two separate studies were conducted: a cross sectional study among truck drivers and secondly among express bus
drivers. The screening process for identifying the high risk group for OSA was
done using Berlin questionnaire. Meanwhile, among express bus drivers, OSA was
confirmed with sleep study using polysomnography test. Result: Screening of
risk group of OSA among truck drivers revealed that 14.6% (19) of drivers were
categorized as having high risk of OSA while 85.4% (111) having low risk of
OSA. While, in another study, polysomnography test among express bus drivers
showed that 83 (28.7%) had mild OSA, 26 (9.0%) had AHI moderate OSA, and 19
drivers (6.6%) severe OSA. Conclusion: This paper highlighted the issues of OSA
among commercial vehicle drivers in Malaysia. With an alarming high prevalence,
OSA should be a major road safety concern in this country. A special study
focusing on sleep and fatigue related crashes may need to be conducted to
complement the current studies and full implementation of existing efforts
and initiatives to address OSA in road crashes should be realized by the
relevant authorities.