Doctors do not fully understand why, but some racial and ethnic groups seem to have a higher risk of developing sleep apnea, or have worse sleep apnea. These differences persist regardless of age, body weight, income, or where someone lives.1-2
Studies from the last 20 years have found that:1-3
- More Hispanic women and African American women report snoring often compared to white women.
- American Indian women were much more likely than white women to report pauses in their breathing during sleep.
- Hispanic men reported snoring more often than white men.
- African American men have more severe sleep apnea than white men of the same age.
- African American men and women report feeling sleepier during the day than white people in the study.
- People in Asia have similar rates of sleep apnea as the U.S. even though they have lower rates of obesity.
African Americans and sleep apnea
A 2018 study found that African American men under age 40 and over age 60 were more likely to have sleep apnea than Caucasians of the same age. This was true no matter what their weight, income, or other markers of health. Their sleep apnea was also more severe than their white counterparts.
Another study found that 95 percent of African Americans were undiagnosed and untreated. The same study found that snoring, higher body weight, and larger neck circumference were all important signs of sleep apnea, just as with other racial and ethnic groups.4
One study found that Black, Hispanic/Latino, and Chinese people tended to sleep less and have poorer-quality sleep than white people.5
Hispanics and sleep apnea
A large 2014 study found that U.S. Latinos had high rates of undiagnosed sleep apnea, along with diabetes and high blood pressure.
Interestingly, men and women of the same background had different rates of serious sleep apnea. Women of Puerto Rican descent had the highest rates of more severe sleep apnea, while women of South American descent had the lowest. Men of Cuban descent had the highest rates of sleep apnea while Puerto Rican and South American men had the lowest.6
Differences in CPAP use
A 2014 study looked at CPAP use among African Americans, Hispanic, and white men. CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure and this is the device most often prescribed to treat sleep apnea. The study wanted to look at what might make minority men more or less likely to use their CPAP machines consistently.
The study found that differences in education, income, language, employment, and where they lived made little impact on whether a man used his CPAP machine. The biggest influence in whether a man of any ethnicity used his CPAP machine had to do with whether he felt better and thought he had a better quality of life.7
Sleep apnea can lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, all health conditions that appear in higher rates in people of color. This makes getting tested and treated for sleep apnea even more important in these groups.