Table 1_Sleep medicine in Saudi Arabia: evolution, current landscape, and future directions a state-of-the-art review with an embedded health-services analysis of Ministry of Health sleep centers, 2022 to 2025.docx

A capacity-to-demand gap model estimated annual diagnostic need under base-case and sensitivity scenarios. Program milestones were triangulated against MOH documents, Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) records, Saudi epidemiologic studies, AASM standards, and WHO and OECD reports.</p>Results<p>Active MOH sleep centers grew from five to eight between 2022 and 2025. PSG bed capacity rose from 8 to 20 (CAGR 35.7%), and annual sleep-study output increased from 2,290 to 5,851 (CAGR 36.7%).

Pediatric in-lab PSG accounted for 557 studies in 2025, or 17% of in-lab activity. Workforce growth lagged infrastructure (CAGR 14.9%); MOH sleep-physician density reached 0.42 per million served population, far below reported international ratios. The Program delivered a national master plan, a Virtual Health Hospital sleep clinic, a readiness manual, MOH classification of eight centers, public- and private-sector regulatory frameworks, a traffic-safety proposal, public-awareness activity, and a national training workshop.

Under the base case (12% adult OSA prevalence, 65% adult-population fraction, 5% annual diagnostic capture), the MOH network met about 4% of estimated annual need; sensitivity scenarios produced a coverage range of roughly 3 to 11%. The CPAP backlog-to-fulfillment ratio was 7:1, and PSG wait times varied 68-fold across centers.</p>Conclusions<p>Saudi sleep medicine has moved quickly from an academic subspecialty to a nationally organized service.

The next phase should shift from infrastructure expansion alone to a learning health-system model built around a national sleep registry, workforce planning, centralized PAP procurement and adherence support, standardized triage, and integration with chronic-disease, occupational-health, and road-safety programs.</p>