Experiencing breathing problems during sleep may raise your risk of\u00a0 depression, a new study suggests.<\/p>\n
Women with sleep\u00a0 apnea<\/a>, in which breathing becomes shallow or pauses briefly during sleep,\u00a0 were 5.2 times as likely to have depression compared with women without the\u00a0 condition. Men with sleep apnea were 2.4 times as likely to have depression as\u00a0 men without the condition, according to the study from researchers at the Centers\u00a0 for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> (CDC).<\/p>\n Participants in the study who had other breathing\u00a0 problems during sleep<\/a> also\u00a0 had an increased risk of depression. However, the researchers found no increased\u00a0 likelihood of depression among people who snore.<\/p>\n “Snorting, gasping or stopping breathing while asleep was associated with\u00a0 nearly all depression symptoms, including feeling hopeless and feeling like a\u00a0 failure,” said study researcher Anne Wheaton, an epidemiologist with the CDC.\u00a0 “We expected persons with sleep-disordered breathing to report trouble sleeping\u00a0 or sleeping too much, or feeling tired and having little energy, but not the\u00a0 other symptoms.”<\/p>\n Both depression<\/a> and breathing problems during sleep\u00a0 are common, and both are underdiagnosed, the researchers wrote. Screening people\u00a0 who have for one disorder for the other could lead to better diagnosis and\u00a0 treatments, they said.<\/p>\n The researchers took into account other factors that might influence the\u00a0 results, such as age, sex and weight. The results are in line with those of the\u00a0 other studies, the researchers said.<\/p>\n The study found an association, not a cause-and-effect link. However, the\u00a0 researchers wrote that evidence from other research suggests that breathing\u00a0 problems during sleep may contribute to the development\u00a0 of depression<\/a>. For example, one previous study found a link between the\u00a0 severity of breathing problems during sleep and the odds of later developing\u00a0 depression. And other studies have shown that people who received treatment for\u00a0 sleep apnea showed improvement in their depression.<\/p>\n “Mental health professionals often ask about certain sleep problems, such as\u00a0 unrefreshing sleep and insomnia, but likely do not realize that [breathing\u00a0 problems during sleep] may have an impact on their patients’ mental health,” the\u00a0 researchers wrote in their conclusion.<\/p>\n Although exactly how the link might work is unclear, it could partly be\u00a0 explained by the fact that people with breathing problems experience sleep\u00a0 that is fragmented<\/a>, or may have low levels of oxygen in the blood during\u00a0 sleep.<\/p>\n The researchers used data collected from 9,714 adults who participated in the\u00a0 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is an ongoing study\u00a0 conducted by the CDC.<\/p>\n Participants were considered to have depression based on their answers to a\u00a0 questionnaire asking about how often they experienced symptoms of\u00a0 depression.<\/p>\n Six percent of men and 3 percent of women in the study reported having\u00a0 physician-diagnosed sleep apnea.<\/p>\n The study was limited in that participants’ depression and sleep problems\u00a0 were measured at only one point in time, and in that it relied on self-reported\u00a0 symptoms. People may not be aware they have breathing problems during sleep, and\u00a0 there was no information about whether participants were being treated for\u00a0 depression.<\/p>\n The study is published in the April issue of the journal Sleep.<\/p>\n