Health & Medicine
Sleep Apnea: Depression Reduced Via CPAP Therapy In Patients
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Sep 23, 2015 12:07 AM EDT
New findings published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine reveal how depressive symptoms commonly seen in sleep apnea patients could be treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
"Effective treatment of obstructive sleep apnea resulted in substantial improvement in depressive symptoms, including suicidal ideation," said Dr. David R. Hillman, a clinical professor at the University of Western Australia, in a news release. "The findings highlight the potential for sleep apnea, a notoriously underdiagnosed condition, to be misdiagnosed as depression."
In this recent study, researchers recruited 426 participants, including 243 men and 183 men, an average of 52 years old. The participants had never been referred to a hospital sleep center to be evaluated for sleep apnea before, according to researchers and the patients' levels of depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire, or PHQ-9.
Based on the sample, 293 were diagnosed with sleep apnea and prescribed CPAP; this involves mild air pressure, which is typically delivered via a mask that keeps airways open while the person sleeps.
The patients involved in the study were asked to use CPAP for at least five hours per night for three months. Study results revealed that 4 percent of the patients adhered to the treatment or nine out of 228 reported still experienced depressive symptoms. In addition, of the 41 patients who expressed feelings of self-harm, none of them reported feeling the same at the end of the three-month period.
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TagsHealth, Human, Sleep Apnea, Sleep, CPAP, therapy, patients, Depression, Reduction, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine ©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
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First Posted: Sep 23, 2015 12:07 AM EDT
New findings published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine reveal how depressive symptoms commonly seen in sleep apnea patients could be treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
"Effective treatment of obstructive sleep apnea resulted in substantial improvement in depressive symptoms, including suicidal ideation," said Dr. David R. Hillman, a clinical professor at the University of Western Australia, in a news release. "The findings highlight the potential for sleep apnea, a notoriously underdiagnosed condition, to be misdiagnosed as depression."
In this recent study, researchers recruited 426 participants, including 243 men and 183 men, an average of 52 years old. The participants had never been referred to a hospital sleep center to be evaluated for sleep apnea before, according to researchers and the patients' levels of depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire, or PHQ-9.
Based on the sample, 293 were diagnosed with sleep apnea and prescribed CPAP; this involves mild air pressure, which is typically delivered via a mask that keeps airways open while the person sleeps.
The patients involved in the study were asked to use CPAP for at least five hours per night for three months. Study results revealed that 4 percent of the patients adhered to the treatment or nine out of 228 reported still experienced depressive symptoms. In addition, of the 41 patients who expressed feelings of self-harm, none of them reported feeling the same at the end of the three-month period.
Related Articles
What Could Loud Snoring Mean For Your Health?
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone