Obstructive sleep apnea may be one reason depression treatment doesn’t work

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When someone is depressed and having suicidal thoughts or their depression treatment just isn’t working, their caregivers might want to check to see if they have obstructive sleep apnea, investigators say.

That’s true even when these individuals don’t seem to fit the usual profile of obstructive sleep apnea, which includes males who are overweight, snore and complain of daytime sleepiness, says Dr. W. Vaughn McCall, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

Continue reading at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University website

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For some reason the article won't load for me. This sounds interesting, and I've never heard of this before. There are many reasons why some people have refractory depression (eg that which is immune to standard treatment)

However one (little known) cause of sleep apnoea is a receded lower jaw. About one third of people have such a physical trait.

One sure fire way of knowing is if you had braces for an overbite as a teenager. Unless you had orthodontic SURGERY to fix this, although the 'bite' (occlusion) will be fixed, the lower jaw (and sometimes even upper jaw) will remain set back.

If you think you have sleep apnoea related to this, simply move your lower jaw forward - a normal person should not normally notice much difference in their breathing. If you do notice your breathing is improved, that could lend weight to a dx of sleep apnoea.

Most GPs won't think of this (unless your jaw is SEVERELY deformed). But it'll almost certainly be the first thing your dentist will notice

Good luck

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For some reason the article won't load for me.

It is still up for me. Science Daily now has the press release on its site.

However one (little known) cause of sleep apnoea is a receded lower jaw. About one third of people have such a physical trait.

I did not know this. Thanks for the heads up.