Experiencing breathing problems during sleep may raise your risk of depression, a new study suggests.
Women with sleep apnea, in which breathing becomes shallow or pauses briefly during sleep, were 5.2 times as likely to have depression compared with women without the condition, Health News reported. Men with sleep apnea were 2.4 times as likely to have depression as men without the condition, according to the study from researchers at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Participants in the study who had other breathing problems during sleep also had an increased risk of depression. However, the researchers found no increased likelihood of depression among people who snore. “Snorting, gasping or stopping breathing while asleep was associated with nearly all depression symptoms, including feeling hopeless and feeling like a failure,” said study researcher Anne Wheaton, an epidemiologist with the CDC. “We expected persons with sleep-disordered breathing to report trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, or feeling tired and having little energy, but not the other symptoms.” Both depression and breathing problems during sleep are common, and both are under-diagnosed, the researchers wrote. Screening people who have for one disorder for the other could lead to better diagnosis and treatments, they said.