Correlations between depressive disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, and hypothalamic inflammation

Obesity is a significant public health concern in China, with a 2.5-fold increase in prevalence over the past 30 years. This increase corresponds to a rise in the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This study aims to investigate the associations of OSA with depressive disorders and hypothalamic inflammation in obese young men. Between January 2020 and December 2021, 62 obese male patients were selected and divided into two groups: a depressive disorder group (18 cases) and a non-depressive disorder group (44 cases) according to the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-5 combined with depressive disorder. All patients were monitored using a portable sleep monitor. Hypothalamic inflammation was evaluated using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by calculating the signal intensity (SI) ratio of the T2-weighted phase of the hypothalamus/amygdala (H/A). Differences were observed in the respiratory event index (REI), lowest oxygen saturation, and oxygen desaturation index (P < 0.05). In the depressive disorder group, the left H/A was significantly higher than in the non-depressive disorder group (P = 0.002), whereas the right H/A did not differ significantly between the two groups (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the left H/A exhibited correlations with REI and body mass index (BMI) (P < 0.05), while no correlation was found between the right H/A and AHI (P > 0.05). In conclusion, our findings suggest that the left hypothalamic inflammation is positively correlated with the severity of OSA, implying that left hypothalamic inflammation may represent a potential mechanism underlying OSA in obese young patients with depressive disorders.