Sleep Specialist: Insomnia is a sign of potentially serious health

The answer is B.

(A) The sleep specialist claims that women do not snore, with the result that doctors cannot identify sleep apnea correctly.
Incorrect. The argument does not assert that women do not snore; it suggests that women may snore less frequently than men, leading to misdiagnosis. This option misinterprets the specialist's argument.

(B) The sleep specialist assumes that the doctors who provided the false diagnoses of depression were male.
Correct. The specialist implies that women should see female doctors, suggesting that previous diagnoses were made by male doctors. This assumption is flawed, as it ignores the potential involvement of female doctors in these misdiagnoses.

(C) The sleep specialist fails to explain the health risks that may come from misdiagnosed insomnia.
Incorrect. While this is a valid concern, it does not address the core flaw related to the gender bias in diagnosis. The main issue is not the health risks but the assumption about the diagnosing doctors' gender.

(D) The sleep specialist incorrectly argues that sleep apnea is a sign of depression.
Incorrect. The specialist does not claim that sleep apnea itself is a sign of depression; they indicate that insomnia due to sleep apnea may be misdiagnosed as depression. This option misinterprets the argument.

(E) The sleep specialist ignores other causes of sleep apnea and thus undermines the main point of the argument.
Incorrect. Although acknowledging other causes could strengthen the argument, this option fails to address the key assumption regarding the gender of the diagnosing doctors, which is central to the reasoning flaw.

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Overview:

Question asks the student to determine the answer choice that highlights the flaw in the reasoning in the sleep specialist’s conclusion. The sleep specialist begins by claiming that insomnia is a serious condition and that women, in particular, should be on guard for signs of it. The sleep specialist goes on to claim that many doctors miss insomnia and instead diagnose women with depression. There is a discussion of sleep apnea (resulting from insomnia) that follows, and the sleep specialist concludes that any woman who has been diagnosed with depression should acquire a second opinion from a female doctor to see if she is actually suffering from insomnia. The student must keep in mind the focus on flawed reasoning in the conclusion itself in order to locate the correct answer: the conclusion is that women who have been diagnosed with depression should see female doctors about being tested for insomnia.

The Correct Answer:

B This is a fairly simple question that might seem deceptively difficult, largely because it is so simple, so the student needs to beware of thinking too hard about it. Clearly, the primary problem with the reasoning is the sleep specialist’s conclusion that women who have been diagnosed with depression should see female doctors and try to be tested for insomnia. There is nothing in the sleep specialist’s previous claims to suggest that the doctors who misdiagnosed women were male; in fact, the sleep specialist claims that insomnia is much more difficult to diagnose in women in general. While it might stand to reason that a female doctor would be more likely to consider a correct diagnosis of insomnia, this line of reasoning is too tenuous to be reliable, given only statements made in the passage. The sleep specialist does not offer any legitimate indication that female doctors diagnose women correctly any more often than their male colleagues, so the conclusion remains flawed. Answer choice (B) is correct.

The Incorrect Answers:

A The sleep specialist claims that snoring in men has enabled doctors to recognize sleep apnea more quickly, but the sleep specialist does not claim that women do not snore, nor can this be clearly inferred from the passage. More importantly, however, this argument is not an immediate part of the conclusion, and it does not contribute to the flaw in the sleep specialist’s reasoning. Answer choice (A) is incorrect.

C The sleep specialist begins the passage with the claim that insomnia can lead to “potentially serious health risks.” It is true that the sleep specialist does not expand this argument much further by explaining what these risks happen to be, but that is unimportant since it does not contribute to the purpose of the passage. Instead, the sleep specialist is attempting to show that doctors often miss a diagnosis of insomnia in women and that women should consider being tested for this condition. As a result, answer choice (C) does not indicate a flaw in the sleep specialist’s conclusion, so it cannot be correct

D At no point does the sleep specialist claim that sleep apnea is or has been linked to depression. In fact, the sleep specialist makes a clear distinction between sleep apnea as a result of insomnia and depression. Answer choice (D) therefore cannot be correct.

E The focus of the sleep specialist’s discussion is insomnia in women and the need for doctors to diagnose this condition correctly in them. The mention of sleep apnea is raised in conjunction with insomnia, but it is not the focus. As a result, there is no need for the sleep specialist to discuss other causes of sleep apnea. Answer choice (E) is clearly incorrect.