ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — Proper treatment for sleep apnea in truckers reduces health costs and increases health and safety benefits, according to a new study published by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The study, led by Dr. Benjamin Hoffman, chief medical officer of Waste Management, used insurance claims records to evaluate the effects of OSA treatment in trucks drivers.

For the 156 drivers who received continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or other treatments for OSA, health plan costs decreased by an average of $2,700 in the first year and another $3,100 in the second year. Meanwhile, 92 drivers who were diagnosed with OSA but not treated saw no change in costs.

The treated drivers also missed fewer work days — an average 4.4 days in the first year — and had lower short-term disability costs by $528 over two years.

On average, treatment for OSA led to "over $6,000 in total health plan and disability cost savings per treated driver," the researchers said. Total costs decreased by 41 percent in drivers treated for OSA, compared to an 8 percent decrease in untreated drivers.

Schneider National, which arguably runs the most comprehensive sleep apnea screening and treatment program of any truck fleet in North America, sees similar benefits.

Schneider’s existing program was borne out of two pilot studies, each of which revealed significant ROI for screening and treatment. The first tracked 339 OSA-diagnosed drivers 12 months before treatment and 12 months after.

Don Osterberg, VP of safety and training recently told Today’s Trucking that in the first phase of the study preventable crashes were reduced by 30 percent; median cost of crashes (how the carrier monitors high-severity crashes) dropped by 48 percent; retention improved by 60 percent; and healthcare savings averaged $539 per driver.

The study was expanded in 2006, involving 788 drivers, and the results were similar. 

 — with files from Truckinginfo.com