Epidemiology
The exact prevalence of obesity hypoventilation syndrome is unknown, and it is thought that many people with symptoms of OHS have not been diagnosed. About a third of all people with morbid obesity (a body mass index exceeding 40 kg/m2) have elevated carbon dioxide levels in the blood.
When examining groups of people with obstructive sleep apnea, researchers have found that 10–20% of them meet the criteria for OHS as well. The risk of OHS is much higher is those with more severe obesity, i.e. a body mass index (BMI) of 40 kg/m2 or higher. It is twice as common in men compared to women. The average age at diagnosis is 52. American Black people are more likely to be obese than American whites, and are therefore more likely to develop OHS, but obese Asians are more likely than people of other ethnicities to have OHS at a lower BMI as a result of physical characteristics.
It is anticipated that rates of OHS will rise as the prevalence of obesity rises. This may also explain why OHS is more commonly reported in the United States, where obesity is more common, than in other countries.
Read more about this topic: Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome