Around five to 10% of people in Bangladesh suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), a sleep disorder caused by blocking of the upper respiratory tract that leads to pauses in breathing and snoring during sleep, speakers at a product launching event said yesterday.
According to experts, severe symptoms of the disorder, such as daytime sleepiness, tiredness and irritability, not only affect the productivity and overall quality of life, but OSA sufferers are also more likely to be involved in workplace and road accidents.
“Around 5%-10% people in Bangladesh are suffering from the disorder,” said Dr Md Zakir Hossain Sarker, a senior consultant at Labaid Specialised Hospital.
Patients may benefit from continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP) machines to keep their airways open during sleep to treat the disorder, representatives of Philips India Ltd said while promoting the product at a press conference in the capital yesterday.
Doctors of private and public medical colleges also supported using the machines to reduce snoring problems and avoid accidents.
“Patients stop breathing for two minutes around 700 times while sleeping. They wake up naturally before two minutes. If they did not, they will die,” said Md Ali Hossain, a doctor at the National Institute of Chest Diseases and Hospitals.
Philips has assisted in establishing five sleep labs in one government and three private hospitals in Dhaka. The company has plans to establish 10 more sleep labs this year.
“We have a plan to create awareness among people about the disease and using the machines to cure it. The machines would cost around Tk30,000-70,000,” Bidur Dhaul, senior director of Philips Healthcare’s home healthcare solution, said.
