Depression Is Common in Women With Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Depression is common in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and this is especially true in women, according to a study being presented at SLEEP 2024, taking place June 1-5 in Houston, Texas.

“Depressive symptoms may be a particularly common manifestation of OSA among women, with women going undiagnosed with OSA for many years. Conversely, effective OSA treatment may improve depression control. We sought to evaluate the relationship between OSA and depression, including the impact of treatment, and how it varies by gender,” the researchers noted.

Researchers linked administrative claims data with objective positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy device usage data to assess 345,707 patients with OSA. They defined depression as having at least 2 health care encounters with a depression diagnosis code in the year prior to index, with no depression preindex defined by no depression diagnosis codes. PAP adherence was categorized as either consistently adherent, intermediately adherent, or nonadherent based on usage over 2 years.

The results showed that in both women and men, individuals with depression had a greater burden of comorbidities, including severe obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and heart failure. The researchers observed that over 2 years, PAP adherence was lower among patients with depression.

Overall, the study showed that women with depression were the lowest proportion of adherent patients (23.3% vs 28.8% of men with depression, 31.3% of women without depression, 37.8% of men without depression; P<.001). Lower PAP adherence, the researchers noted, was associated with lower rates of antidepressant medication use post-PAP initiation in both women and men.

“We found in a real-world cohort that depression commonly co-exists with OSA, particularly in women. PAP adherence is lower in those with depression, especially among women. This study highlights the need to further understand the impact of depression in women with OSA,” the researchers concluded.

Reference

Patel S, Dexter R, Woodford C. The impact of gender on the obstructive sleep apnea—depression relationship. Abstract #0557. Presented at SLEEP 2024; June 1-5, 2024; Houston, Texas.