Added value of the action

The proposed COST Action will implement European clinical and basic research on OSAS by making it more organized and competitive, and by establishing cooperation with other European research networks on health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Cooperation can also be extended to networks on OSAS operating in non-COST Countries, for example in the US.

The COST Action will increase the perception of OSAS as a clinically relevant problem in the medical community, and will act as a powerful mean to attain harmonisation of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in European Public Health. This will be accomplished by the production of guidelines and statement papers to be published in International medical journals. These publications will also be useful for policy making Institutions, such as the European Parliament, in order to promote preventive and therapeutic measures for health consequences of OSAS.

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Endorsement of the Action on OSAS by the European Respiratory Society (and possibly other European professional/scientific Societies) will increase the visibility of the network. Synergies with other European organizations (EC, ESF, etc) will help disseminate the results of the Action at the patient and public opinion levels, by producing simplified documents on the dangers for health posed by OSAS and the advantages provided by treatment. In addition, OSAS patients and relatives will benefit from a website dedicated to this disease, where they can find updated information on sleep disordered breathing provided by Institutional sources.?

The network on OSAS will stimulate possible innovations by providing new ideas and promoting collaboration with industrial partners involved in diagnostics and treatment of OSAS.