Undergraduate Research Symposium

Operators of commercial motor vehicles are required to undergo a biennial medical examination (CDME) to determine the driver’s medical fitness to safely operate such a vehicle. Examined drivers may be medically certified for 2 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, or receive no certification. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a disorder that reduces airflow to the lungs during sleep and leads to poor quality sleep. OSA is one of the leading causes of excessive daytime sleepiness and is of special concern among commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. The present study uses OSA diagnosis data, as determined by a “gold standard” overnight polysomnogram (PSG), for 1,767 drivers. Diagnostic results for each driver were matched to a the driver’s CDME form; the resulting data was used to analyze the ability of the CDME medical examination to screen for undiagnosed OSA in CMV drivers and/or limit the certification times correspondingly. Of the 1,620 drivers who had a CDME form prior to their OSA diagnosis, medical examiners were able to identify 10% of the OSA positive cases. Of those drivers identified as positive by the medical examiner, 83% were diagnosed as positive by their PSG. Currently, the US DOT is carrying out a preliminary rulemaking process to decide whether specific standards for OSA screening in the CDME should be established. Our results suggest such standards should be considered.