# The long-term effectiveness of and the disparities in access to treatments for obstructive sleep apnea: a study on the All of Us data

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY D/B/A NYU LONG ISLAND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2022 · $146,720

## Abstract

Project Summary
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common sleep-related breathing disorder that affects
up to 38% of North Americans. OSA causes hypoxemia and oxidative stress that lead to increased
risks of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and various chronic conditions. It also
contributes to health disparities as racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely to experience
delay in diagnosis and treatment than non-Hispanic Whites, along with the fact that these
minorities may have a higher prevalence of OSA. Treatments of OSA, including continuous
positive airway pressure (CPAP) and upper airway surgery, are effective in relieving patients'
hypopneic symptoms and therefore also thought to reduce the risks of these morbidities.
However, previous studies on CPAP did not show significant impact on these outcomes and
findings remain inconclusive due to poor compliance of the participants. In addition, literature
regarding the long-term benefits of upper airway surgery is extremely lacking. It is also important
to characterize OSA patients who will have higher risks of long-term morbidities. The proposed
project will leverage the big data from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program
to study the long-term effects of CPAP and surgery on downstream morbidities, and to identify
critical predictors for OSA patients who are at risk of these outcomes. In addition, the project aims
to evaluate the racial and ethnical disparities in access to OSA treatment, and the mediation effect
of socioeconomic and healthcare factors. The project, if successfully carried out, should have
important scientific and social implications by providing a better understanding of the benefit of
each treatment, facilitating personalized medicine, and reducing health disparities in OSA.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10659816
- **Project number:** 3R01MD013886-05S2
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY D/B/A NYU LONG ISLAND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Donglan Zhang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $146,720
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-11 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10659816

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10659816, The long-term effectiveness of and the disparities in access to treatments for obstructive sleep apnea: a study on the All of Us data (3R01MD013886-05S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10659816. Licensed CC0.

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