Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/661456
April 2016 | Overdrive | 17 Untitled-7 1 3/10/16 2:06 PM UNTREATED APNEA POSES FIVEFOLD RISK, STUDY SAYS As U.S. officials focus on truck- ers with obstructive sleep ap- nea, new research indicates that the rate of preventable crashes for truckers with untreated OSA was five times higher than those without the condition. On March 21, the medical journal Sleep published an analysis of the first large-scale program by a trucking com- pany to screen, diagnose and monitor OSA treatment. Ear- lier in the month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin- istration published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemak- ing and requested comments on addressing truckers with the condition. The study examined data provided by Schneider Nation- al, which in 2006 became the first major motor carrier to institute an OSA program. Re- searchers compared a control group of 2,016 drivers unlikely to have the ailment with 1,613 drivers with OSA. Among those diagnosed with the ailment, 682 truckers fully met requirements and used the company-provided machines. Of the remaining truckers with the condition, 571 drivers partially adhered to treatment, while 360 were never compli- ant. Truckers with OSA who had not adhered to treatment had a preventable crash rate five times greater than those un- likely to have OSA with similar driving experience. – Jill Dunn