Sleep medicine service in Saudi Arabia. A quantitative assessment

OBJECTIVE: To assess quantitatively sleep medicine services in Saudi Arabia (KSA) and identify obstacles that face specialists and hospitals and preclude the establishment of this service.

METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 53 major governmental and private hospitals in KSA on September 2005. The response rate was 69.8%. Data were coded and analyzed.

RESULTS: The survey identified 9 sleep disorders facilities in KSA; 7 were defined as sleep disorders centers and 2 as sleep laboratory using the American Academy of Sleep Medicine definitions. The per capita polysomnography (PSG) rate was 7.1 PSG/year/100,000 population, which was much lower than the reported rates in developed countries. The occupancy rate of sleep facilities was found to be low (45.7%). The most important identified obstacles facing the progress of sleep medicine in KSA were lack of trained sleep technicians, shortage of sleep medicine specialists and the un-availability of fund or designated space for the facility.

CONCLUSION: Sleep medicine seems to be underdeveloped in KSA compared to developed countries. Organized efforts are needed to overcome the identified obstacles and challenges facing the progress of sleep medicine in KSA.