Sleep-disordered breathing linked with depression

Snorting, gasping or stopping breathing while asleep has been associated with nearly all depression symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveyed 9,714 Americans for a new study appearing in the April issue of SLEEP. The CDC determined that the likelihood of depression increased with the frequency of sleep-disordered breathing.

Symptoms reported included feelings of hopelessness and feeling like a failure. The association was made regardless of factors like weight, age, sex or race. The CDC study is the first nationally representative sampling to look at obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and depression. Similar links have been made in previous studies, but in samples that were much smaller and more specific.

The study’s authors suggested that physicians screen for depression in the presence of sleep-disordered breathing, or vice versa. The said such screenings could help reduce the high incidence and under-diagnosis of both of these disorders.

Read more blog posts about sleep and depression. Or learn more about insomnia, or take a short quiz to test how well you sleep.

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Sleep-disordered breathing and bedwetting could go hand in hand

Does your child have problems wetting the bed at night? Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) could be playing a role. A recent study, conducted on 5-10 year olds, searched for the link between SDB and tonsil and adenoid swelling in children with enuresis (bedwetting). The study also examined what part brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels play in measuring how severe SDB is in children have enuresis. BNP is an amino acid that is produced by the heart when the heart muscle cells have been majorly stretched.

There are two types of bedwetting. A child who is a primary bed wetter has not regularly stayed dry during sleep for 6 months straight. A person who is a secondary bed wetter has stayed dry for 6 months, but then starts bedwetting at least twice a week for about 3 months.

Surveys, taken by parents with 5-10 years olds, were reviewed for signs of SDB and bedwetting. The children with SDB were clinically examined. BNP levels were calculated in 33 children with SDB and wet their beds, and also in 30 healthy children who wet their beds.

Of the children studied, about 15% had primary enuresis, and about 47 children (30%) had SDB. However, there was a lower occurrence of SDB and bedwetting when age increased. BNP levels were much higher in children who bed wet. Thirty-three children with bed wetting problems and SDB underwent adenotonsillectomies. Twenty-nine children improved; 15 were completely cured. All of the children with enuresis and SBD who had the surgery showed a big decrease in daytime enuresis.

To find out more about SDB and bedwetting visit www.yoursleep.aasmnet.org

If you think your child may have a sleep disorder, visit an AASM accreditedsleep center.

Photo By: Steven Yeh

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