Purpose: There are no published data regarding the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in Iran. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify individuals with a high likelihood to suffer from obstructive sleep apnea in the Persian population. This was compared to similar studies in other countries.
Materials and methods: As a part of a population-based cross-sectional study, 3,600 randomly selected individuals aged 18 years or more, were invited to take part in the survey, 3,529 individuals (98%) agreed to fill out the Berlin sleep questionnaire.
Results: Based on the Berlin Criteria, 176 subjects (4.98%) were identified as suspicious for OSA. This group consisted of 74 (42%) males and 102 (58%) females. The prevalence of high-risk Berlin in men and women were not significantly different with chi-square test (p > 0.2). But high-risk Berlin subjects also were increasing with age (p < 0.001) and increasing with obesity (p < 0.001) and decreasing with higher education (p < 0.001) with chi-square test. Predictors of high risk for OSA-related symptoms were female sex, age more than 50 years, and body mass index.
Conclusions: We identified persons with a high risk for OSA among a representative Iranian sample. It is concluded that the prevalence of sleep apnea syndrome symptoms is lower in our population as compared with western countries which can be attributed to the excessively young Iranian population.