Abstract
PURPOSE: OSAHS patients' quality of life is significantly impacted by poor sleep. This study examines the mediating role of depression in the relationship between sleep quality and life quality among OSAHS patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Convenience sampling was applied to gather participants at a Chongqing tertiary hospital. Participants filled out questionnaires measuring their quality of life, depression, and sleep quality. Sleep quality was gauged by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), depression was assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and quality of life was assessed by the Quebec Sleep Questionnaire (QSQ). Mediation analysis was performed via SPSS PROCESS. RESULTS: The study found that depressive symptoms (r=-0.705, p<0.01) and sleep quality (r=-0.578, p<0.01) were adversely associated with quality of life in OSAHS patients. Depressive symptoms were found to significantly mediate the relationship between sleep quality and quality of life in OSAHS patients (Bootstrap 95% CI -0.0992, -0.0483), with 49.55% of the effect size attributable to the pathway from sleep quality to depression to quality of life. CONCLUSION: Sleep quality and depressive symptoms are important indicators of quality of life in OSAHS patients. Depression serves as a partial mediator (In this study, the mediating factor refers to the element that controls the association between quality of life and sleep quality) in the relationship between sleep quality and quality of life. Interventions aimed at enhancing sleep quality and alleviating depressive symptoms may lead to an improved quality of life for OSAHS patients.