Table 3.

Untreated OSAS puts patients and the public at increased risk for accidents.

Condition	Quantified risk	Quantified costs	Reference
Motor Vehicle Accidents	The rate of vehicle crashes (personal and commercial) is at least double in OSAS patients compared to controls. These crashes often result in personal injury. Many drivers in head-on crashes are found to have OSAS. Treatment reduces the accident rate. This improvement with treatment is most evident in the most severely affected patients.	In 2000, conservative calculations found that more than 800,000 drivers were involved in OSAS-related motor-vehicle collisions in the United States. These collisions cost $15.9 billion and 1400 lives. In the United States, treating all drivers suffering from OSAS with CPAP would cost 3.18 billion dollars, save 11.1 billion dollars in collision costs, and save 980 lives annually	Sassani 200479 Ellen 200675 Tregear 200976 Antonopoulos 201174 Karimi 201473
Work Related Accidents	Workplace accidents are particularly more common in OSAS patients when they are in the transportation industry.	The costs of workplace accidents are difficult to quantitate precisely because of the direct and indirect costs. However, OSAS is now considered a public health hazard given its pervasive effects in the workplace.	Lindberg 200180 Vennelle 201068 Leger 201272