An online questionnaire survey of 14 villages in Elassona province, in order to investigate the risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, was conducted from February 11 to March 2, 2015 by the Pulmonary Clinic of the University of Thessaly and the Sarantaporo.gr team.
Local residents participated in the survey through the Sarantaporo.gr NPO’s website http://surveys.sarantaporo.gr utilizing the modern telecommunications infrastructure of community networks developed in these villages and providing open internet access to all.
About 300 residents participated in the questionnaire, with 15% reporting sleepiness while 30% were aware of sleep apnea syndrome. 23 of them said they would like to be screened to see if they have the syndrome.
The University of Thessaly's Pulmonary Clinic has already begun getting in touch with residents who have sought medical help and scheduled examinations at the University Hospital's outpatient clinics.
According to the University of Thessaly Pulmonary Clinic, on the occasion of World Sleep Day on March 13, 2015, a new way of detecting patients who may have sleep deprivation syndrome is proposed. The syndrome is characterized by snoring, sleep apnea, daytime sleepiness, arterial hypertension and metabolic disorders.
In the times of financial crisis, modern networking technologies even in remote areas and the use of the Internet can help in the timely diagnosis and communication at no additional cost neither for the University Hospital, clinics for Primary Health Care nor for the citizens examined.
