A Neurology Advisor report indicates that income level is not associated with the purchase or use of a CPAP device.
Tetyana Kendzerska, MD, PhD, from the University of Toronto, and colleagues examined the correlation between patient neighborhood income level and the purchase of a CPAP device under a cost-sharing health care insurance system. Data were included for all adults who underwent a first diagnostic sleep study between 2004 and 2010. Purchase of CPAP equipment was determined using patient data linked to provincial health administrative data.
The researchers found that 58% of the 695 participants with severe OSA and excessive daytime sleepiness purchased a CPAP device. The cumulative incidence of CPAP acceptance at six months was 43 and 52% for individuals in a low income neighborhood and combined higher income neighborhoods, respectively (P = 0.05). Living in higher income neighborhoods versus the lowest income neighborhood correlated with an increased chance of accepting CPAP, after adjustment for sex and age (hazard ratio, 1.27; P = 0.07).
