Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition that afflicts an estimated 22 million Americans and is generally believed to be vastly underdiagnosed in the general population. The difficulty in diagnosis originates in the fact that many of the condition’s symptoms can be misattributed to a number of ailments. In addition to this, the majority of general practitioners do not know how to properly screen for the condition—resulting in a weak first line of defense against the disorder.

For women, the situation is compounded by an all-too-common issue they experience when seeking medical care: their symptoms tend to deviate from the “classic” symptoms found in men. For example, chronic snoring, the most common tell-tale sign of sleep apnea, is frequently replaced by other sleep disruptions in women.

Thankfully, more and more studies are being published to enhance practitioners’ knowledge on how OSA reveals itself in, and impacts, women.