A special article in the Jan. 13 issue of JAMA analyzed trends in U.S. and international research funding and productivity. Results show that although total U.S. funding of biomedical and health services research increased 6 percent per year from 1994 - 2004, the rate of growth declined to 0.8 percent per year from 2004-2012, reaching $116.5 billion.

Treatment with auto-adjusting positive airway pressure (APAP) therapy following diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea by home sleep apnea testing results in equivalent adherence and improvement in sleepiness compared to a polysomnography titration and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment, reports a study in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

A study in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine reports that neck-to-waist ratio, an index of body fat distribution, predicts obstructive sleep apnea in older children and adolescents who are overweight or obese.

The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea is high among both male and female patients with coronary artery disease, according to a study in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. According to the authors, while previous studies have linked OSA to heart problems in men, the current findings highlight the importance of studying the impact of OSA in women with cardiovascular disease.

A study in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine is the first to demonstrate that insomnia symptoms mediate the relationship between alcohol use and suicide risk, and that this mediation is moderated by gender. According to the authors, insomnia symptoms may present a treatment target to reduce suicide risk among those who use alcohol.

A study in the December issue of SLEEP shows that paid work time is the primary waking activity exchanged for sleep, with short sleepers working 1.55 more hours on weekdays and 1.86 more hours on weekends than normal sleepers. Short sleepers also traveled more, started traveling earlier in the morning, and stopped later in the evening than normal sleepers. According to the authors, the study suggests that chronic sleep loss potentially could be prevented by targeted strategies such as making work start times more flexible.

A study in the December issue of SLEEP reports that scores on both the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ) and Sleep Apnea Quality of Life Index (SAQLI) improved after three months of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

A study in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that percent predicted peak oxygen uptake was significantly lower in participants with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea.

A new study suggests that teen drivers who start class earlier in the morning are involved in significantly more motor vehicle accidents than peers with a later high school start time.

The November issue of SLEEP includes the results of a four-decade, longitudinal study from New Zealand, which found that individuals who struggle with lifelong depression and anxiety beginning in childhood are uniquely susceptible to insomnia in early midlife. Other disorders did not predict adulthood insomnia.