Up to 4% of the UK live with sleep apnoea, with millions potentially undiagnosed.
The APPG for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea exists to raise awareness of OSA and press for real solutions. Left untreated, it raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, dementia and stroke — but with the right diagnosis, it's a condition that can be transformed.
Apnoea event — each disturbance cuts oxygen levels and jolts the body toward waking, sometimes hundreds of times a night.
Sleep apnoea is common, under-diagnosed, and linked to serious health risks.
Left untreated, OSA increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, dementia and stroke. Standard treatment is a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine — but low diagnosis rates and a lack of dedicated sleep services mean many sufferers are never treated, even though the condition can be transformed with the right diagnosis.
Up to this share of the UK population are estimated to live with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea — more than 2.5 million of them undiagnosed.
Of men are affected, compared with around 3% of women — rising after menopause, especially without HRT.
Of adults in England have a formal OSA diagnosis on NHS record — against an estimated 4.8% living with the condition, per a 2026 study of NHS primary care and hospital data.
Most diagnosed patients are overweight, middle-aged men who have struggled with sleep for years — but OSA also affects slim adults, women, and children, who are generally less likely to seek help. That same NHS-data study found diagnosis rates varying by ethnicity too: higher among South Asian adults and lower among Black adults than White adults, even after accounting for obesity — a gap researchers say may partly reflect differences in access to diagnosis rather than true underlying risk.
Sleep health, taken seriously in Parliament.
The APPG for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea exists to raise awareness of the condition among parliamentarians, press the UK government to shorten diagnosis pathways, and ensure sleep health is treated as a public health priority rather than an afterthought.
We convene clinicians, patients, and policymakers to build the evidence base for better commissioning of sleep services across the UK.
APPGs are informal, cross-party groups with no official status within Parliament. They are run by and for Members of the Commons and Lords, often with outside organisations providing secretariat support. More on APPGs at parliament.uk →
Launched in the House of Lords.
The Group held its inaugural meeting in the House of Lords, hosted by Chair Seema Malhotra MP and Co-Chair Lord Karan Bilimoria. Speakers included Kath Hope of the sleep apnoea charity Hope2Sleep, Professor Ram Dhillon, Consultant ENT Surgeon and ENT UK’s representative on the APPG, and Michael Oko, founder of the Sleeping Disorders Centre.
“I am delighted to launch the APPG on Sleep Apnoea in Parliament. Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is effectively strangulation, which lowers oxygen levels, occurs during sleep, and has catastrophic medical consequences downstream if not managed. Snoring is its primary symptom. The APPG will provide a highly influential cross-party forum highlighting this medical condition.”
Seema Malhotra MPChair, APPG for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
“This APPG has been initiated to raise awareness of this not-so-silent medical disorder to address patients’ clinical needs and reduce/prevent downstream costs to the individual and the economy. We will be holding high-level parliamentary round tables on key issues.”
Lord Karan BilimoriaCo-Chair, APPG for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Sleep apnoea in the news
Stroke risk linked to sleep apnea may vary for Black people and white people
A study published in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that the stroke risk associated with sleep apnea may differ between Black and white patients.
Read the coverage →Plant-based diet linked to cutting sleep apnoea risk by a fifth
Research published in ERJ Open Research found that people eating the most fruit, vegetables, whole grains and nuts were 19% less likely to have sleep apnoea than those eating the least.
Read the coverage →The clue in your driving habits that could signal sleep apnoea
Researchers identified traits in motorists that may point to a potentially dangerous, and often undiagnosed, sleep disorder.
Read the coverage →Services for Parliamentarians and stakeholders
Presentations, teleconferences and media — the APPG is supported by a panel of expert advisors from the medical profession and charity sector who are available to MPs and Peers to provide information and expertise on sleep apnoea and related issues to support their work in Parliament, in their constituencies, or in the media.
Professor Ram Dhillon
Emeritus Consultant Surgeon, London NorthWest Healthcare NHS Trust; Associate Professor, Plymouth University School of Medicine & Dentistry. Medical Director, Rila Institute of Health Sciences, London. Formerly UK Department of Health Advisor on Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.
Dr Michael Oko
Consultant ENT Surgeon FRCS(Ed) FRCS(ORL–HNS), United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust & Clinical Lead for Sleep Apnoea Service. Founder of The Sleeping Disorders Centre. Contributor to the Department of Health Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Working Group.
Enquiries should be directed to the APPG Secretariat, Amrit Maan, at appgsleepapnoea@gmail.com.