[The effect of hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis hormone levels and depression in obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome].

Objective

To explore the change of hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis hormones and it's role in depression in obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

Methods

Seventy-three male OSAHS patients [age (39±11) years] and 13 male controls [age (36±7.5) years] were enrolled from August 2013 to May 2017 in the 1(st) Hospital of China Medical University. Overnight polysomnography and depression were assessed. The serum TRH, TSH, FT4 and FT3 levels were measured on the next morning. The relationship between depression and hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis was analyzed.

Results

Compared with the control group, severe hypoxia group had higher serum FT3 level [(4.5±0.6) ng/L vs. (5.4±0.7)ng/L, P<0.05)] and depression score (30±7 vs. 40±10, P<0.05). Further analysis revealed that serum FT3 level (5.0±0.5 ng/L vs. 5.5±0.7ng/L, P<0.05) and FT4 level [(16.2±1.9) ng/L vs. (18.2±2.3) ng/L, P<0.05] were lower in the patients with depression than those without.

Conclusion

The decrease of serum FT3 and FT4 levels in OSAHS patients with severe hypoxia was closely related to the occurrence of depression.