Research Article Determinants of CPAP Adherence in Hispanics with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Copyright © 2014 Montserrat Diaz-Abad et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Purpose. We hypothesized that socioeconomic factors and a language barrier would impact adherence with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) among Hispanics with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods. Patients with OSA who were prescribed CPAP for at least 1 year and completed a questionnaire evaluating demographic data, socioeconomic status, and CPAP knowledge and adherence participated in the study. Results. Seventy-nine patients (26 males; 53 ± 11 yrs; body mass index (BMI) = 45 ± 9 kg/m2) with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) 33 ± 30 events/hr completed the study. Included were 25 Hispanics, 39 African Americans, and 15 Caucasians, with no difference in age, AHI, CPAP use, or BMI between the groups. While there was a difference in educational level