Use of Phenotyping to Predict Treatment Response in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a very common and often misdiagnosed condition. It is estimated that 9% to 38% of the general population suffer from OSA symptoms. However, the prevalence varies greatly in different population groups. For example, it tends to be more common in men, and in some elderly groups the prevalence is as high as 90%. Although great advances in treatment have been made in the last decade, obstructive sleep apnea remains difficult to treat.

Currently, the continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP) is the first-line of treatment to nearly all patients. Although effective in theory, the acceptance and adherence rates of CPAP are very low which makes it’s real-life effectiveness significantly lower. Around 50% of patients are not able to tolerate it and discontinue treatment within 6 months. Despite many alternative therapies becoming available in the last few year, the “one-size-fits-all” approach to OSA treatment largely remains.

Advances in phenotyping are needed to improve personalized treatments and patient selection to clinical trials. Enhanced phenotyping which results in personalized treatment combinations has been found to significant improvement of symptoms reduction. Such clinical feature based phenotyping should be improved to provide better prognostic and treatment implications for patients.