Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Jun 2023)
Cognitive Functions, Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms After One Year of CPAP Treatment in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Abstract
Jakub Vanek,1 Jan Prasko,1– 4 Samuel Genzor,5 Kamila Belohradova,1 Jozef Visnovsky,1 Jan Mizera,5 Jonas Bocek,1 Milan Sova,5,6 Marie Ociskova1,4 1Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry of Palacky University, Olomouc, the Czech Republic; 2Institute for Postgraduate Education in Health Care, Prague, The Czech Republic; 3Department of Psychology Sciences, Faculty of Social Science and Health Care of Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, the Slovak Republic; 4Jessenia Inc. - Rehabilitation Hospital, Akeso Holding, Beroun, the Czech Republic; 5Department of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry of Palacky University, Olomouc, the Czech Republic; 6Department of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, Brno, the Czech RepublicCorrespondence: Jan Prasko, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Olomouc and Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University Olomouc, I. P. Pavlova 6, Olomouc, 77520, the Czech Republic, Tel +420 603 414 930, Email [email protected]: The study worked with depressive symptoms, anxiety score and cognitive functions in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients treated with CPAP.Methods: Eighty-one subjects with OSA and without psychiatric comorbidity were treated with CPAP for one year and completed the following scales and cognitive tests: Trail Making Test, Verbal Fluency Test, d2 Test, Beck Depression Inventory-II and Beck Anxiety Inventory. MINI ruled out psychiatric disorder. At the two months check-up, subjects were re-evaluated for depressive and anxiety symptoms, and after one year of CPAP treatment, subjects repeated cognitive tests and scales. Data about therapy adherence and effectiveness were obtained from the patient’s CPAP machines.Results: The study was completed by 59 CPAP adherent patients and eight non-adherent patients. CPAP therapy effectiveness was verified in all patients by decreasing the apnea-hypopnoea index below 5 and/or 10% of baseline values. The adherent patients significantly improved depressive and anxiety symptoms. There was also an improvement in overall performance in the attention test; however, performance in many individual items did not change. The adherent patients also improved verbal fluency and in the Part B of the Trail making test. The non-adherent group significantly increased the number of mistakes made in the d2 test; other results were non-significant.Conclusion: According to our results, OSA patients’ mood, anxiety and certain cognitive domains improved during the one-year therapy with CPAP.Trial Registration Number: NCT03866161.Keywords: obstructive sleep apnoea, depression, cognitive functions, CPAP treatment, treatment efficacy, Trail Making Test, Verbal Fluency Test