Press release

Age, Gender, Disease Severity Impact Adherence to Long-Term PAP Therapy More Than Previously Thought

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ResMed (NYSE: RMD, ASX: RMD) today revealed several demographic and
clinical factors affect adherence to PAP (positive airway pressure)
therapy, according to a study it presented at the American Thoracic
Society’s ATS 2019 International Conference.

The study found significant differences in one-year adherence between
people of different ages and disease severity levels:

  • Men with sleep apnea are 8.5 percentage points more likely to stay
    adherent on PAP therapy than women.
  • People over age 60 were 7.3 percentage points more adherent than the
    entire study cohort (77.7% vs. 70.4%).
  • People with self-reported severe sleep apnea were 78% adherent at the
    one-year mark, compared to 70.5% of those with self-reported moderate
    sleep apnea, and 65.2% of those with mild sleep apnea.

“Sleep specialists, pulmonologists, and primary care physicians should
heed these results and ensure that their younger, female, and more
mildly diagnosed patients have the proper supports to stay on therapy,”
said Adam Benjafield, a study coauthor and ResMed’s vice president of
Medical Affairs. “Regardless of why these gaps exist, we know they do,
signaling the need to keep in close contact with patients in these
populations.”

About the study

medXcloud, a ResMed-assembled group of healthcare key opinion leaders,
conducted the study, which examined de-identified data of 1,063,870 U.S.
PAP users from ResMed’s world-leading remote monitoring network,
AirView. PAP users must have also been registered for the myAir patient
engagement tool.

“Overall, we see encouragingly high long-term adherence rates across all
subgroups, compared to most other chronic medical therapies,” said
Benjafield. “Sleep apnea is a chronic disease without a cure; therefore,
staying adherent on PAP through the years is critical to preventing
apneas, maintaining your good sleep and overall health.”

About ResMed

At ResMed (NYSE: RMD, ASX: RMD) we pioneer innovative solutions that
treat and keep people out of the hospital, empowering them to live
healthier, higher-quality lives. Our cloud-connected medical devices
transform care for people with sleep apnea, COPD and other chronic
diseases. Our comprehensive out-of-hospital software platforms support
the professionals and caregivers who help people stay healthy in the
home or care setting of their choice. By enabling better care, we
improve quality of life, reduce the impact of chronic disease and lower
costs for consumers and healthcare systems in more than 120
countries. To learn more, visit ResMed.com
and follow @ResMed.