Introduction: Depression during pregnancy is an important health issue that involves 12-20% of mothers and affects woman's ability of self-care and may also contribute to other problems such as inadequate nutrition and poor prenatal clinic attendance. Sleep apnea is a common disorder that is associated with depression. The present study was done to investigate the relationship between sleep apnea and depression during pregnancy.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 140 pregnant women who referred to health centers of Saqqez, Iran, in 2012. Sampling was accessible. The Berlin questionnaire and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were used to assess sleep apnea and antenatal depression. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 18, descriptive statistics, Chi-square and exact Fisher test. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: 46 mothers (32.9%) had depression during pregnancy and 12 mothers (8.6%) had sleep apnea. 10 number of depressed mothers (21.7%) and 2 number of non-depressed mothers (2.1%) were at high risk for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea in depressed mothers was 12.7 times higher than non-depressed mothers.
Conclusion: There is a relationship between depression during pregnancy and sleep apnea.