WISCONSIN MEDICAL JOURNAL burden of Sleep apnea: rationale, Design, and Major findings of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study

Author Affiliations: Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of WisconsinMadison, Madison, Wis (Young, Palta, Dempsey, Peppard, Nieto); Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wis (Hla). Corresponding Author: Terry Young, PhD, Professor of Population Health Sciences, 1070 Medical Sciences Center, 1300 University Ave., Madison, WI 53706; phone 608.263.5832; fax 608.263.8828; e-mail [email protected]. abStraCt Context: Untreated sleep apnea is a prevalent but treatable condition of breathing pauses during sleep. With approximately 15% of the US population affected, understanding of the total health burden is necessary to guide policy, population initiatives, and clinical practice to reduce the prevalence of this condition.