A meta-analysis finds that CPAP and mandibular advancement devices (MADs) in the treatment of sleep apnea show similar effects on blood pressure reduction, reports Medscape.

“CPAP is regarded as the best treatment for sleep apnea, and MADs are not used much because there is little data on their effectiveness,” senior author, Malcolm Kohler, MD, from University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, commented to Medscape Medical News. “Previous individual studies of MADs to date have shown contradictory results on their effect on blood pressure. But when we put all the data together we did show an effect.”

Dr Kohler noted that another meta-analysis by his group published a few weeks ago suggested that MADs were also similar to CPAP in reducing daytime sleepiness in patients with sleep apnea patients.

“These two meta-analyses together suggest that MADs are a viable alternative to CPAP and may be preferable to many patients who find CPAP too difficult to use.”