The Role of Daily Life Stressors in Mediating the Relationship Between Sleep Disordered Breathing and Mood Disorders (Poster presentation)

Researchers have long explored and debated a possible link between psychological disorders and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome (OSAS) with mood disturbance has been reported to be the most common psychological disorders associated with OSAS. The current study looks specifically at the potential changes and continuities of moods and other psychological factors in OSAS patients and examines the role of daily life stressors in the relationship between OSAS and mood disorders. One hundred and 10 patients who attended a sleep laboratory for a sleep diagnostic study were recruited for psychological testing prior to an overnight sleep diagnostic study. They completed a number of psychological instruments assessing their moods as well as sleep questionnaires. Measures of apnoea severity (RDI, oxygen desaturation) and physiopsychological data (such as EEG, EOG, and EMG) were also collected. Results indicated that daily life stressors do mediate the relationship between OSAS and depression. These findings shed a new light in the understanding of the relationship between OSAS and depression