Risk of Comorbid Insomnia Disorder Associated with Major Depression in Apneic Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Given the limitations of available studies, the objective of this study was to explore the role played by current and remitted major depression in the occurrence of comorbid insomnia disorder for apneic patients. Data from 1488 apneic patients were extracted from the medical reports of polysomnographic recordings available in the database of the Sleep Laboratory. The presence of comorbid insomnia disorder in these apneic patients was defined based on the diagnostic criteria of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Work Group. The risk of comorbid insomnia disorder associated with current or remitted major depression in apneic patients was investigated using multivariate logistic regression models. After adjustment for the main confounding factors, multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that remitted and current major depression were significantly associated with the occurrence of comorbid insomnia disorder in apneic patients. The findings of this study seem to indicate that comorbid insomnia disorder could be a residual symptom and a marker of major depression in apneic patients, which justifies the establishment of an adequate treatment for major depressive episodes and their potential residual symptoms to allow the better management of comorbid insomnia disorder and the better prevention of its potential negative consequences in this particular subpopulation.

Keywords

• insomnia disorder
• major depression
• obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
• polysomnography
• risk factor