• Importance of Sleep

Gynecologists

Gynecologist
80%

of Sleep Apnea Patients
remain Undiagnosed

Are your patients at risk?

Obstructive Sleep Apnea occurs when muscles of the soft palate and throat relax during sleep, obstructing the airway and making breathing difficult and noisy (snoring). Eventually, the airway walls collapse, blocking airflow entirely, which results in a breathing pause or apnea.

Women are at an increased risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea:

  • If their BMI is high and/or they have central adiposity
  • During pregnancy, especially third trimester
  • During and after menopause

Pregnancy and Sleep

  • Total sleep time lengthens
  • Fragmentation increases
  • Excessive daytime sleepiness/insomnia can develop
  • Snoring increases by 15-20%
  • Sleep in the mother is lower 3 months following birth
  • Higher estrogen narrows the upper airway, increasing the risk for OSA

Menopausal Symptoms

  • 50-80% of menopausal women report sleep issues.
  • Menopausal women have 3.4 times more odds of sleep disorders.
  • Combination HRT has been shown to improve sleep quality and be somewhat helpful for OSA.
  • Women’s risk for OSA increases at menopause.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrom (PCOS) and Sleep

  • >90% of PCOS patients have sleep complaints
  • 9 times more risk of excessive daytime sleepiness
  • Woman with PCOS show increased OSA (30 times more likely than controls)
  • Low estrogen generally worsened sleep issues in PCOS patients
  • ~70% of women with PCOS have OSA
  • Unclear if it is caused by higher testosterone, lower progesterone, or insulin resistance

Helping your patients sleep better

  • Add questions about sleep quality to your discussions with patients.
  • Listen for descriptions of fatigue, exhaustion, lack of energy, and depression.
  • Use the STOP-Bang OSA screener in overweight, menopausal, and PCOS patients.
  • Contact CSCC for a recommendation about a sleep or insomnia specialist in your area.

PLEASE COMPLETE THE OSA SCREENER

The STOP-Bang Questionnaire : Answer these Eight questions by yes or no

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Helping your patients sleep better

  • If your patients report sleep complains, assess for obstructive sleep apnea (STOP-Bang) or other sleep disorders
  • Explain that sleep in combination with moderate physical activity may promote remission and help prevent relapse
  • Keep CSCC brochures and forms in your office to help foster awareness of sleep disorders in your patients
  • If your patient screens positive for OSA and has a supportive clinical history, please refer them to Comprehensive Sleep Care Center for an evaluation

The Smart Choice for your patients

A one-stop sleep health shop = win/win for your patients

  • A seamless process from diagnosis to therapy for you and your patient referrals
  • A sleep medicine practice solely focused on sleep medicine
  • Pre-certification services of your patient’s insurance provided by our billing specialists
  • Collaborative partnership and multidisciplinary approach with our referring providers and their patients
  • An individualized, tailored treatment plan for the entire spectrum of sleep health management
  • Full service sleep health practice providing DME, including our onsite team of dentists for the treatment of mild to moderate sleep apnea by oral appliance therapy. Insurance billed directly on the behalf of your patient
  • Ongoing patient education, long term support and compliance monitoring of CPAP therapy to enhance patient outcomes
  • Home Sleep study program available
  • Quick turnaround on results and updated follow up notes provided