ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine the point prevalence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in a community-based sample of older male veterans and to determine if common markers of SDB apply to this population. METHODS: Two hundred fourteen older male Veterans (age 55-89 years) were recruited for a study on post-traumatic stress disorder and cognitive decline. Questionnaires concerning anthropomorphic and psychological variables were obtained, as was an overnight polysomnographic examination of sleep. RESULTS: Only 13% of the participants lacked clinically meaningful SDB, whereas 33% had moderate SDB and 54% had severe SDB. Being overweight, self-reported snoring, and excessive daytime sleepiness all had good sensitivity (0.86-0.92) but very poor specificity (0.10-0.28) for the prediction of SDB. CONCLUSIONS: Undiagnosed SDB was more than threefold higher than expected in these community-dwelling older veterans. Traditional markers of SDB were not specific for predicting clinically relevant SDB.