The individual and societal prices of non-adherence to continuous positive airway pressure, contributors, and strategies for improvement

Introduction: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the first-line therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). CPAP is highly effective for improving symptoms and quality of life, but the major issue is adherence, with up to 50% of OSA discontinuing CPAP in the first 3 years after CPAP initiation.

Areas covered: We present the individual and societal costs of non-adherence to CPAP, factors associated with non-adherence to CPAP, as well as current strategies for improving adherence including telehealth, couple-based interventions, and behavioral interventions. We also report on challenges and pitfalls for the visualization and analysis of CPAP remote monitoring platforms.

Expert opinion: CPAP termination rates and adherence to therapy remain major issues despite technical improvements in CPAP devices. The individual and societal price of non-adherence to CPAP for OSA patients goes beyond excessive sleepiness and includes cardiovascular events, all-cause mortality, and increased health costs. Strategies for improving CPAP adherence should be individually tailored and aim to also improve lifestyle habits including physical activity and diet. Access to these strategies should be supported by refining visualization dashboards of CPAP remote monitoring platforms, and by disseminating telehealth and innovative analytics, including artificial intelligence.