Q&A
Debate on sleep apnea as a public health priority in NYC
1:10:39
·
92 sec
Council Member Abreu and Commissioner Morse debate whether sleep apnea should be a focus area for public health in NYC. Abreu argues for its importance based on national statistics, while Morse explains why it's not currently a top priority for Healthy NYC.
- Morse states sleep apnea is not one of the top drivers of reduced life expectancy in NYC
- Abreu argues that sleep apnea potentially affects 1.6 million New Yorkers and can lead to serious health issues
- The exchange concludes with an agreement to discuss further collaboration on the issue
Shaun Abreu
1:10:39
So sorry.
1:10:39
You didn't answer my question.
1:10:41
Sure.
1:10:41
Are there current initiatives or informational materials available by DOHMH that discuss sleep apnea?
Michelle Morse
1:10:47
What I would say is that sleep apnea isn't one of the top drivers of the reduced life expectancy that we've seen.
1:10:55
So our goal with Healthy NYC is to extend life expectancy to 83 years or longer by 2030.
1:11:02
The 7 drivers really are the ones that are the top drivers of shortened life expectancy.
1:11:07
Sleep apnea is not one of those drivers, and so it's not to say it's not important.
1:11:11
It is to say it's not one of the areas of focus within Healthy NYC.
Shaun Abreu
1:11:16
It needs to be one of the focus areas for for for our city.
1:11:20
When you have 1 in 4 adults, the ages of 30 to 70 nationally, that's 30,000,000, 23,000,000 of those 30,000,000 don't realize that they have sleep apnea.
1:11:34
If if we were to apply those national standards to New York City, that would result in 1,600,000 New Yorkers.
1:11:40
1,600,000 New Yorkers potentially could be living with sleep apnea right now.
1:11:45
It can result in stroke, hypertension.
1:11:48
If those are things that we can't even get the basic data for as a city, I think that is very concerning for us, and that's why we're launching this campaign for more than a snore, and I hope that we can reach, a solution that would be to the benefit of New Yorkers.
1:12:04
Thank you very much, chair.
Michelle Morse
1:12:05
We would be happy to speak more with you, council member O'Bray, about how we could collaborate.
Shaun Abreu
1:12:09
Thank you.
1:12:09
I look forward to that.
