Research

Hormonal

Women require less CPAP pressure than men for treating OSA of similar severity, but face challenges with adherence and appropriate screening tools.

If you are a woman using CPAP for sleep apnea, ensure your pressure settings are titrated specifically for you. Women often require lower pressures than men for the same severity of apnea. If you are experiencing discomfort or high pressure settings, discuss a re-titration with your sleep specialist.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Women may require less CPAP pressure for OSA treatment of similar severity in men; Women have lower scores than men on Epworth Sleepiness Scale, which maybe be more sensitive to subjective sleepiness in men than in women.
Monica P. Mallampalli et al. · Journal of Women s Health · 2014

Why this rating

Based on cited studies (Ref 22) and general clinical observations, but adherence data is noted as unavailable.

Source

Exploring Sex and Gender Differences in Sleep Health: A Society for Women's Health Research Report

Monica P. Mallampalli et al. · Journal of Women s Health · 2014

DOI 10.1089/jwh.2014.4816

narrative_reviewCited 489×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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