Randomised controlled trial of screening patients with Schizophrenia for obstructive sleep apnea using in-laboratory polysomnography or 3-nights of home oximetry.

2023 MRFF Optimising Screening Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Stream 2-3

Stream 2: Schizophrenia impacts 7 per 1000 people globally, and half have developed metabolic syndrome, representing significant cardiometabolic burden leading to excess early mortality. Moreover, schizophrenia commonly starts early in life (late adolescence and 20s), is chronic and requires long term pharmacotherapy which is often obesigenic. This means that individuals may begin to suffer from sleep apnoea much earlier than the general population and have a much longer life-time hypoxic burden. This 4-site 140 patient non-inferiority trial will inform health funders as to the 12-month clinical and cost benefits of funding simpler at home tests (i.e. 3 nights of at-home overnight oximetry) for sleep apnoea in this special and severely undertreated population to speed access to treatment. Our highly skilled clinical and clinical trials research team will enable widespread and rapid translation of trial outcomes into clinical practice, creating a unique opportunity to gather evidence to generate significant health improvements for this high metabolic-risk population.