Rationale, Design, and Findings from the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study: Toward Understanding the Total Societal Burden of Sleep-Disordered Breathing

At least 12 to 18 million people are affected by untreated sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), which is likely to contribute to increased cases of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, depression, and mortality. The aims of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study (WSCS) were to (1) describe occurrence, including age- and sex-specific prevalence; (2) estimate, with longitudinal data, the role of SDB in cardiovascular and behavioral morbidity and mortality; and (3) identify risk factors for the development and progression of SDB. The most relevant findings from the WSCS are described. As the author notes in her summary, the cost of adverse consequences that can be attributed to SDB is likely to be staggering, a burden that could be decreased by risk factor reduction, with weight loss the most likely candidate.