Psychological morbidity, illness representations, and quality of life in female and male patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a sleep-related breathing disorder
that affects both women and men. The aim of this study was to characterize and
investigate the differences in terms of anxiety, depression, illness perception, and
quality of life between female and male OSAS patients from a total of 111
patients (33 women and 78 men) who were recently diagnosed with OSAS in an
outpatient clinic of a University Hospital in Portugal. They underwent a
standardized protocol that included evaluation to assess of psychological
morbidity (anxiety and depression – Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale),
illness representations (Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire), and quality of life
(Sleep Apnea Quality of Life Index). The most significant differences between
female and male OSAS patients result of apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), after
controlling for body mass index (p 5 0.05); anxiety (p ¼ 0.000) and depression
(p 5 0.005); consequences (p 5 0.005), identity (p ¼ 0.000), coherence
(p 5 0.01), and emotional representation (p 5 0.005) of OSAS; and for daily
functioning (p ¼ 0.000), emotional (p ¼ 0.001), and symptoms (p 5 0.05)
domains of quality of life. Data suggest that women revealed more psychological
morbidity associated with OSAS. Therefore, it seems extremely important to look
at women as potential patients for sleep apnea and avoid looking up for a pattern
of symptoms that rely on men as a norm to which women are compared