Depression and OSA

Poor sleep can cause Depression, and Depression can disrupt your sleep quality.

A study in Australia looked at almost 2000 community-dwelling Australian men over a period of 5 years. Lang et al¹ found that Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) and Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS) was independently associated with depression. Confirming what we already know: that a poor night’s sleep, and being sleepier during the day, is associated with depression.

857 of the participants who had not previously been diagnosed with OSA underwent a sleep study and fille dout an Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) questionnaire. It was find that if you had previously undiagnosed OSA you were almost two times more likely to suffer from Depression. Having EDS made you almost two and a half times more likely to suffer from Depression.

The bad news is for people with both OSA and EDS: they had over 4 times higher risk of developing depression than those without OSA or EDS.

Those with Depression have a higher chance of having an undiagnosed OSA, so it’s important to check for comorbid diseases as they can negatively impact each other.

Our sleep specialists can help if you think you have a sleep disorder. Call us for an appointment to discuss this further.

References

(1) Lang et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2015.

Associated link on Adelaide Sleep https://adelaidesleep.com.au/depression-osa/