Authors (including presenting author) :
Le AE(1), Wong KC(1), Kwok CL(1), Lee SH(1), Yee KS(1)(2)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Tuberculosis and Chest, TWGHs Wong Tai Sin Hospital (2)Department of Medicine, Kwong Wah Hospital
Introduction :
Depression is known to co-exist with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) as an important comorbidity. A meta-analysis showed that the prevalence of depression in adult OSA patients was 35%. It is clinically relevant to address the association of depression with OSA, because symptoms of both disorders overlap thus posing diagnostic challenge. There is bidirectional relationship between the two disorders, treating one condition can enhance the response of therapy to the other. The current COVID pandemic may complicate the association further. A local population-based study illustrated a prevalence of moderate to severe depression (PHQ-9 score > or = 10) in 19% of respondents during COVID pandemic.
Objectives :
Our study attempts to evaluate the prevalence of depression in adult OSA subjects during COVID pandemic and any correlation between the two disorders.
Methodology :
Since September 15, 2022, all clinically suspected OSA patients whom were admitted to our sleep laboratory for polysomnography (PSG) were administered PHQ-9 questionnaire to evaluate the presence of depression.
Result & Outcome :
A total of 260 patients (197 males & 63 females) were admitted for PSG during the study period (15.9.2022 to 3.1.2023). Mean age: 54.77 years (13.29), mean weight: 80.6 Kg (15.5), mean BMI: 29.40 Kg/m2 (5.32) and mean neck circumference 40.6 cm (3.5).
OSA defined as the presence of apnoea-hyponoea index (AHI) of 5 or above in PSG was present in 237 subjects (91.2%). Amongst these, 37 (15.6%), 58 (24.4%) and 142 (59.9%) were categorized as mild, moderate and severe OSA respectively, with corresponding AHI of 5 to < 15, 15 to < 30 and > or = 30.
The prevalence of depression (PHQ-9 score > or = 5) in the OSA group (n=237) was 44.3%, while that of moderate to severe depression (PHQ-9 score > or = 10) was 18.5%. There was no significant difference between the OSA group and non OSA group (n=23) in the prevalence of depression (p=0.75)
There is no correlation between AHI and PHQ-9 scores in patients with OSA (n=237) (R=0.089).
In conclusion, our study showed a prevalence of depression in 44.3% of OSA subjects during COVID pandemic, which was about 9% higher than that reported in a meta-analysis before pandemic; and the prevalence of moderate to severe depression of 18.5% was similar to that of a local population-based study during pandemic.
