JOPIC
Journal of Pulmonology and Intensive Care

The JoPIC is an independent-unbiased, peer-reviewed, and open-access journal of current national and international issues and reviews for original clinical and experimental research, interesting case reports, surgical techniques, differential diagnoses, editorial opinions, letters to the editor, and educational papers in pulmonology, thoracic surgery, occupational diseases, allergology, and intensive care medicine.

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Original Article
The effect of CPAP treatment on pulmonary function, anxiety/depression and life quality in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
Abstract
Aims: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a condition commonly associated with excessive daytime sleepiness and neurophysiological dysfunction and increases cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality. Exercise limitation was assessed with a 6 min walk test (6MWT) in previous studies and was associated with apnea hypopnea index (AHI), body mass index (BMI), female gender, hypertension (HT), and low FVC values. There are few studies on the effect of CPAP treatment on these parameters. In our study; the aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in pulmonary function test (PFT), 6MWT, quality of life (SF-36) and hospital anxiety / depression scale with patients who should use CPAP because of OSAS.
Methods: Patients who presented to the Sleep Clinic of the Department of Pulmonology at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine between 17 October 2018 and 20 December 2018 were enrolled in the study. Individuals with a diagnosis of sleep apnea who met the indication criteria for positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy underwent titration under polysomnographic supervision, and an appropriate PAP device with optimal pressure settings was prescribed. Demographic characteristics, medical history, anthropometric measurements, and polysomnography (PSG) recordings were collected for all participants. Additionally, the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and baseline morning spirometry were administered. After obtaining their PAP devices and using them for one month, patients were scheduled for routine follow-up, during which spirometry, the SF-36 questionnaire, HADS, and the 6MWT were reassessed.
Results: 18 patients were included in the study. These patients; 17% were female and 83% were male and the mean age was 46.9 ± 9. The anxiety and depression scores were significantly decreased after one month of CPAP treatment. Before CPAP treatment; anxiety was found in 4 patients and depression was found in 8 patients. One month CPAP treatment; anxiety was present 2 patients and no depression was detected in any patient. In the evaluation of exercise capacity; there was a significant increase in walking distance after CPAP treatment (548,83 ± 60,6, 579,33 ± 54) (p: 0,007). CPAP treatment was significantly improved in subscales of quality of life in general health, physical function, vitality (energy), social function and mental health sub parameters. There was no significant change in spirometric measurements before and after CPAP treatment and titration. There was no significant change in spirometric measurements before and after CPAP treatment and titration. In the correlation analysis, a significant relationship was found between the change in 6MWT and the change in physical function, energy, mental health and anxiety score. At the same time, a significant correlation was found between anxiety and depression improvement and quality of life subscales.
Conclusion: The study demonstrated that even short-term PAP therapy may lead to improvements in several quality-of-life subdomains, anxiety and depression scores, and exercise capacity. Considering the findings of this study, multicenter investigations involving a larger cohort of patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), comparing CPAP therapy with alternative treatment modalities and enabling more advanced analyses, would provide a more comprehensive understanding of CPAP-related changes in pulmonary function, quality of life, anxiety and depression, and exercise capacity.

Keywords : Sleep Apnea, Obstructive; Exercise Test; Quality of Life; Pulmonary Function Tests; Anxiety; Depression; Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; Pulmonary Function Tests

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Article available in :
Volume 3, Issue 4, 2025
Page : 108-114
https://doi.org/10.51271/JOPIC-0069
Article Information
Received : 05 Kas 2025
Accepted : 29 Kas 2025
Published : 29 Kas 2025
Corresponding Author :

Emine Keleş: Department of Pulmonology, Yenimahalle Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkiye

[email protected]
Citation : Keleş E, Damadoğlu E, Demir AU. The effect of CPAP treatment on pulmonary function, anxiety/depression and life quality in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. J Pulmonol Intens Care. 2025;3(4):108-114.

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