Association between Depression and Severity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Background and Objective: Depression is commonly reported in patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea/ Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAS). We aimed to assess the association between OSAS severity and depressive symptoms in patients with OSAS. Materials and Methods: A total of 337 patients with symptoms of OSAS were visited for psychological testing prior to beginning diagnosis for the syndrome between 2012 -2014 in Baharloo Hospital. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) questionnaires. Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI), mean of arterial oxygen saturation, sleep efficiency, and number of awakenings were measured by polysomnography (PSG). Results: Correlation between RDI index and ESS score was statistically significant (r: 0.215, P 0.001), but correlation between RDI and BDI-II score was not statistically significant (P= 0.59). Also mean of BDI-II score between male and female was statistically different (male: 12.08 ± 10.6, female: 17.26 ± 12.56, P 0.001). Conclusions: OSAS severity was not related to symptoms of depression measured by BDI-II questionnaire. It seems that the method of scoring for depression severity may affect the association between obstructive sleep apnea and depression.