%0 Journal Article
%T Depression and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
%A Carmen M Schr£żder
%A Ruth O'Hara
%J Annals of General Psychiatry
%D 2005
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1744-859x-4-13
%X In clinical practice, the presence of depressive symptomatology is often considered in patients with OSA, and may be accounted for and followed-up when considering treatment approaches and response to treatment. On the other hand, sleep problems and specifically OSA are rarely assessed on a regular basis in patients with a depressive disorder. However, OSA might not only be associated with a depressive syndrome, but its presence may also be responsible for failure to respond to appropriate pharmacological treatment. Furthermore, an undiagnosed OSA might be exacerbated by adjunct treatments to antidepressant medications, such as benzodiazepines.Increased awareness of the relationship between depression and OSA might significantly improve diagnostic accuracy as well as treatment outcome for both disorders. In this review, we will summarize important findings in the current literature regarding the association between depression and OSA, and the possible mechanisms by which both disorders interact. Implications for clinical practice will be discussed.OSA is by far the most common form of sleep disordered breathing and is defined by frequent episodes of obstructed breathing during sleep. Specifically, it is characterized by sleep-related decreases (hypopneas) or pauses (apneas) in respiration. An obstructive apnea is defined as at least 10 seconds interruption of oronasal airflow, corresponding to a complete obstruction of the upper airways, despite continuous chest and abdominal movements, and associated with a decrease in oxygen saturation and/or arousals from sleep. An obstructive hypopnea is defined as at least 10 seconds of partial obstruction of the upper airways, resulting in an at least 50% decrease in oronasal airflow.Clinically OSA is suspected when a patient presents with both snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) [1,2]. The diagnosis of OSA is confirmed when a polysomnography recording determines an Apnea-Hypopnea-Index (AHI) of > 5 per hour of slee
%K sleep apnea
%K OSA
%K sleep disordered breathing
%K mood
%K affective disorders
%U http://www.annals-general-psychiatry.com/content/4/1/13