Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Oct 15;3(6):631-5.

For individuals with obstructive sleep apnea, institution of CPAP therapy is associated with an amelioration of symptoms of depression which is sustained long term

Daniel J Schwartz  1 , Gillian Karatinos
Affiliations

For individuals with obstructive sleep apnea, institution of CPAP therapy is associated with an amelioration of symptoms of depression which is sustained long term

Daniel J Schwartz et al. J Clin Sleep Med. .

Abstract

Objective: To assess the sustainability of an improvement in symptoms of depression using CPAP therapy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Patients/methods: Patients referred to our center for evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea who had a respiratory disturbance index (RDI) of > or =15 and who demonstrated a significant response to CPAP (50% or greater drop in RDI), were evaluated for symptoms of depression using the Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen for Medical Patients (BDI). These individuals were asked to complete the BDI assessment again after 4 to 6 weeks of treatment with CPAP (short-term follow-up), and then reassessed approximately one year later (long-term follow-up).

Results: In this group of patients, the institution of CPAP therapy resulted in a significant decrease in those symptoms of depression assessed by the BDI at both the short-term and long-term follow-up periods.

Conclusions: For patients with OSA who continue CPAP therapy, we noted a statistically significant, sustained improvement in those symptoms of depression measured by the BDI.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Beck AT, Steer RA, Brown GK. The Psychological Corporation. San Antonio: Texas; BDI –Fast Screen for Medical Patients.
    1. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Depression: Recommendations and Rationale. Ann Intern Med. 2002;136:760–764. - PubMed
    1. Pignone MP, Gaynes BN, Rushton JL, et al. Screening for depression in adults: a summary of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. 2002;136:765–76. - PubMed
    1. Shaffer J, Hoffman R, Armitage R. The neurobiology of depression: perspectives from animal and human sleep studies. Neuroscientist. 2003;9:82–98. - PubMed
    1. Schwartz DJ, Kohler WC, Karatinos G. Symptoms of depression in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea may be amenable to treatment with continuous positive airway pressure. Chest. 2005;128:1304–9. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources