0633 Age matters: Association between age and depression severity at the time of OSA diagnosis, and PAP adherence in adult patients

Abstract Introduction Numerous studies have shown association and symptom overlaps between Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and depression. However, data is limited on association between age, severity of depression at time of OSA diagnosis, and its impact on PAP adherence. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a validated depression screening and severity scoring tool recommended by DSM-V. In this retrospective observational study, we will evaluate the interrelationship between age at OSA diagnosis, depression severity and positive airway pressure (PAP) adherence. Methods Patients were seen at the University of California, San Francisco Fresno sleep center. PHQ-9 scores for depression severity uses a 1-5 scale (1 = none, 2 = mild, 3 = moderate, 4 moderately severe, 5 = severe). PHQ-9 was administered at diagnosis of OSA and follow up, and average daily PAP usage was obtained from PAP devices after 1 month of therapy initiation. IBM SPSS version 29.0.0 was used to calculate descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and Mann Whitney test. Results Twenty-six participants were included with mean age 53.04 years and standard deviation (SD) 17.97. PHQ-9 scores ranged 4-27 with mean 10.6, SD 5.9, 40% with mild and 66.3% with moderate to severe scores. 53.8% were 50 years or older (“older”) while 46.2% were 49 years or younger (“younger”). Pearson correlation between average CPAP use and PHQ-9 scores was 0.181. Age did not affect PAP adherence (Pearson correlation -0.046). Moderate correlation was noted between age and PHQ-9 scores (-0.4390) with younger patients showing more severe depression scores. Comparison between “older” and “younger” patients showed significant difference in PHQ-9 scores (p=0.020). Conclusion This study showed that PHQ-9 scores at the time of OSA diagnosis are moderately correlated with younger age, with those patients younger than 50 years old having more moderate to severe PHQ-9 scores than patients 50 years or older. We did not find correlation between age and PAP adherence or between PHQ-9 scores and PAP adherence. Our findings can help identify depression early on in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea and bring awareness that the young adult population can be particularly vulnerable. Support (if any)