According to a study, sleep apnea should not remain untreated as in most of the patients suffering from depression, the cause is sleep apnea. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reported that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disease, which affects at least 25 million adults in the US.

The study found that if sleep apnea remains untreated, then there is a higher risk of other chronic health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, stroke and depression.

Researchers discovered that majority of depression patients suffered from sleep apnea that continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) can treat easily. But some people have stopped using CPAP because of a number of reasons. One of the reasons included claustrophobia feeling, thus researchers have recommended a substitute mouth guard to avoid sleep apnea.

During a study, Swedish researchers from Umea University in Sweden carried out a randomized clinical trial in which the sleep apnea mouth guard showcased promise. Even the researchers have said in their study’s abstract that the device reduced obstructive sleep apnea, snoring, and probably restless legs without any effect on daytime sleepiness and quality of life in the patients having daytime sleepiness and snoring or mild to moderate sleep apnea.

During the yearly meeting of the Associate Professional Sleep Societies in Boston, one more study performed on similar lines was presented. In a press release, Charles Bae, MD, head investigator of the study, said, “The score improvements remained significant even after taking into account whether a patient had a prior diagnosis of depression or was taking an antidepressant. The improvements were greatest in sleepy, adherent patients but even non-adherent patients had better scores”.