A preliminary study on the relationship between sleep, depression and cardiovascular dysfunction in a 4 sample population

BACKGROUND: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has been linked in the literature to poorer prognosis in patients with cardiovascular dysfunction, although the mechanisms of this relationship remain unclear. Underlying Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) serves as a potential candidate to explain this effect due to its downstream effects on inflammatory activation and decreased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, both of which have been shown to contribute to the pathophysiology of both MDD and cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: This study utilizes overnight polysomnography and an inflammation panel to examine the links between cardiovascular dysfunction and sleep difficulties in control participants and patients diagnosed with SDB only, MDD only, and both SDB and MDD. RESULTS: Results demonstrate a strong positive relationship between sleep dysfunction and the nitric oxide synthesis inhibitor Symmetric Dimethyl Arginine (SDMA) in the MDD-only cohort, suggesting a link between SDMA-mediated NO dysregulation and CVD pathogenesis in individuals with MDD. Additionally, hypopneas, a form of sleep impairment characterized by partial reduction of airflow, were found to play a significant role in the relationship between SDB and cardiovascular dysfunction in MDD-only patients. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study demonstrate the need for widespread screening for SDB in MDD populations to detect predisposition to CVD, and also offer SDMA as a new potential target for CVD treatment in individuals with MDD.