Like pilots, truck drivers and train operators should be screened for sleep apnea, experts tell NPR.
Dr. Kales says 10 to 25 percent of Americans may have obstructive sleep apnea. Risk factors include snoring, family history and being overweight. And he says the sleep disorder is much more common in train operators, and especially so in truck drivers, who tend to be middle-aged men with much higher rates of obesity. The federal government requires airline pilots to be screened and treated for sleep apnea, but there’s no such requirement for railroad engineers and truck and bus drivers. The Federal Railroad Administration is in the process of developing such a rule. But in the trucking industry, the regulations are murky.
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