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Same sleep disorder but different sleep patterns: individual differences in sleep health and depressive symptomatology in veterans with obstructive sleep apnea

  • Psychiatrics • Short Communication
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Poor sleep health, a composite measure of key sleep characteristics, may relate to increased depressive symptoms among individuals treated for obstructive sleep apnea. The current investigation examined the association between sleep health and depressive symptomatology.

Methods

In a pilot sample of 13 symptomatic OSA military Veterans with adequate CPAP adherence (mean age = 54.8, 76.9% male, 100% White), empirically validated cutoffs were applied to actigraphy-derived sleep variables: duration, efficiency, timing, and regularity.

Results

Participants with zero optimal sleep scores had significantly higher depressive scores (M = 19.0, SD = 3.0) than participants with 1 or 2 (M = 9.8. SD = 4.3, p = .016) and 3 or more optimal sleep scores (M = 11.3, SD = 4.9, p = .038).

Conclusions

These preliminary findings suggest that better sleep health was associated with lower depressive symptomatology. Future work should replicate these preliminary findings in a larger sample.

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Fig. 1

Data availability

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) places legal restrictions on access to veteran’s health care data, which includes both identifying data and sensitive patient information. The analytic data sets used for this study are not permitted to leave the VA firewall without a Data Use Agreement. This limitation is consistent with other studies based on VA data. However, VA data are made freely available to researchers behind the VA firewall with an approved VA study protocol. For more information, please visit https://www.virec.research.va.gov or contact the VA Information Resource Center (VIReC) at vog.av@CeRIV.

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Funding

This research was funded by the VA RR&D (I21 RX003304-02) with additional support from VA VISN4 MIRECC, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, and Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh.

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Author notes

  1. Mark C. Thomas

    Present address: Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 4 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, University Dr C-151R, Pittsburgh, PA, 15240, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 4 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, University Dr C-151R, Pittsburgh, PA, 15240, USA

    Isabella Soreca

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Mark C. Thomas & Daniel J. Buysse

Authors
  1. Mark C. Thomas
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  2. Daniel J. Buysse
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  3. Isabella Soreca
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark C. Thomas.

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Disclaimer

The contents do not represent the views of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government. The abstract was previously presented as a poster presentation at the Sixteenth University of Pittsburgh Postdoctoral Data and Dine Symposium on May 24, 2023 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).

Conflict of interest

Over the past 3 years, Dr. Buysse has served as a paid or unpaid consultant to National Cancer Institute, Pear Therapeutics, Sleep Number, Idorsia, and Eisai. All consulting agreements have been for a total of less than $5000 per year from any single entity. Dr. Buysse is an author of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Addendum for PTSD (PSQI-A), Brief Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (B-PSQI), Daytime Insomnia Symptoms Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Diary, Insomnia Symptom Questionnaire, and RU_SATED (copyrights held by University of Pittsburgh). These instruments have been licensed to commercial entities for fees. He is also co-author of the Consensus Sleep Diary (copyright held by Ryerson University), which is licensed to commercial entities for a fee. He has received grant support from NIH, PCORI, AHRQ, VA, and Sleep Number. No other disclosures were reported.

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Thomas, M.C., Buysse, D.J. & Soreca, I. Same sleep disorder but different sleep patterns: individual differences in sleep health and depressive symptomatology in veterans with obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Breath (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-024-03007-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-024-03007-2

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