Obstructive sleep apnoea and depression: is there an association?

In the study by KENDZERSKA et al. [1] published in this issue of the European Respiratory Journal, it is reported that obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and severity measures, such as the apnoea/hypopnea index, are not related to the risk of hospitalisation for depression. The sample of the study was large with >10000 subjects, and the follow-up period was long, ∼10 years. The investigators focused on the more severe phenotype of the disorder that requires inpatient treatment to avoid possible misdiagnosis, which is more likely in milder cases, due to overlapping symptoms between OSA and depression.