Clinical Guidelines for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Insomnia

Background and Objective

Sleep disturbances, especially chronic insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), are prevalent in the military and veterans. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Defense have developed practice guidelines for the diagnosis and assessment, as well as the treatment and management, of these two conditions.

Key Recommendations

Diagnosis and assessment of OSA:

• Mild OSA is defined as an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 5–15 events per hour, moderate OSA as an AHI of 15–30 events per hour, and severe OSA as an AHI of >30 events per hour.

• Validated assessments such as the STOP questionnaire can be used to strat…