I found it puzzling to learn that the new FMCSA sleep apnea standards includes recommendations that only CDL holders with a body mass index of 30 or higher be referred for sleep apnea testing.
Granted, sleep apnea is a serious disorder that interrupts a person’s breathing during sleep, and I realize how serious that is. People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly while sleeping. I get that. And it’s true that the lack of adequate and restful sleep can show itself during the day in various ways, putting people behind the wheels of automobiles in harms way.
They believe that certain physical features, such as excessive weight, are common to people with sleep apnea, although people who aren’t obese can suffer it as well. That’s what puzzles me about the FMCSA sleep apnea standards. A BMI of 30 or greater – 220 pounds for a 6-foot-tall person – puts people at risk for developing obesity-related medical conditions such as sleep apnea but how can they just select these people for testing and not everyone. Surely there are plenty of drivers who aren’t overweight that have OSA too.
The FMCSA sleep apnea standards support the belief that proper treatment of everyone with OSA will lead to significant health-care savings for trucking fleets. Even more importantly is that it will lead to a significant reduction in accidents and highway fatalities but only if all drivers are referred, not just a select group.
