Sleep Apnea Treatments May Also Reduce Depression Symptoms

Treatment for obstructive sleep apnea with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or mandibular advancement devices (MADs) can lead to modest improvements in depressive symptoms, according to a study published by Marcus Povitz, Carmelle Bolo, and colleagues from University of Calgary, Canada, in PLOS Medicine.

The researchers identified 22 randomized,controlled trials that investigated the effects of CPAP or MAD treatment on patients with obstructive sleep apnea and that measured depressive symptoms before and after treatment.

By pooling the results from the 19 trials examining the effects of CPAP, the researchers observed that CPAP significantly improved depressive symptoms compared to the control intervention (usually sham-CPAP), with a greater improvements in those trials in which there was a higher prevalence of depression at baseline than in trials in which there was a low prevalence of depression at baseline.

READ FULL ARTICLE From Medical News Today