Abstract
Community-based studies that measure both psychiatric diagnoses and obstructive sleep apnœa (OSA) are lacking. This study reports current psychiatric disorders in community-dwelling adults at high risk for OSA identified by the Berlin Questionnaire. Further, associations between OSA and current psychiatric disorders, unadjusted and adjusted for putative confounders, are reported.
A subsample of the Akershus Sleep Apnœa Project (ASAP) consisting of 290 adults, aged 30–65 years, with positive Berlin Questionnaire screening, underwent the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and polysomnography. Auxiliary analyses of depression are provided.
The median apnœa–hypopnœa index score in the sample was 7.7 (25th percentile 2.4, 75th percentile 22.2). Major depressive disorder, current anxiety and somatoform pain disorder were diagnosed in 12.4%, 14.8% and 19.3% of participants, respectively. At least one psychiatric disorder was diagnosed in 110 participants. The odds ratio of participants with OSA for having a psychiatric disorder compared with participants without was 0.54 (95% CI = 0.33–0.88). A negative association did not exist among Berlin Questionnaire low risk participants.
In conclusion, more than one-third of participants in a community-based, Berlin Questionnaire high-risk sample were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. A negative association between OSA and psychiatric morbidity was found.
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