Alleviating Depressive Symptoms Through Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy: Long-Term Effects on Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) increases the risk of physical and psychological comorbidities, including depression. Although the short-term impact of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on depressive symptoms is established, its long-term psychological impact beyond 2 years remains underexplored. Objective: To evaluate the impact of long-term CPAP therapy on depressive symptoms in patients with OSA, focusing on Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) subdomain changes, as well as the influence of demographic and clinical variables such as age and sex. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 170 patients with OSA who underwent polysomnography and received CPAP for ≥ 6 months at the Nihon University Itabashi Hospital Sleep Center. Depression severity was measured using the SDS, and subgroup analyses assessed associations between changes in SDS scores and clinical parameters (age, sex, CPAP adherence, and sleep-related indices). Results: Total SDS scores significantly declined from 40.2 to 37.5 in patients using CPAP for ≥2 years. Improvement was most pronounced in the cognitive and behavioral subdomains (e.g., fatigue, motivation, and decision-making) and was statistically significant among male patients, whereas female patients showed a nonsignificant trend toward improvement. No significant associations were observed between baseline characteristics (e.g., age and comorbidities) and SDS score changes. Multivariate analysis confirmed these improvements were not solely attributable to a single subdomain. Conclusion: Long-term CPAP therapy was associated with modest improvements in depressive symptoms in patients with OSA, particularly in cognitive and behavioral domains. In exploratory analyses, benefits appeared more evident in males, but these findings should be interpreted with caution given the limited female sample size.
Source: Sleep Science
Institution: Nihon University
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225389282