Depressive symptoms in patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of depressive symptoms in Peruvian patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea (OSAH) and the association between the presence of depressive symptoms and OSAH severity. Physical examination, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) were applied, and a polysomnography test was performed. Data on 312 patients, 12 % females, 46.1 +/- 11.7 years of age, were analyzed. BDI and ESS scores were 8.3 +/- 5.7 and 9.8 +/- 5.5, respectively. A total of 244 (78 %) patients had OSAH: 27 % of the cases were mild, 23 % were moderate, and 50 % were severe. Eighteen percent of the population had depression. A univariate analysis found a relationship between depressive symptoms and OSAH, as well as with some polysomnographic variables related to OSAH severity. The association between depression and OSAH was not significant in the multivariate analysis. No association was found between depressive symptoms and OSAH.