A new study by the researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that breathing problems during sleep may raise the risk of depression.

The study published in the April issue of the journal Sleep from researchers at the Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed the data from around 9,000 people who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

They found that men with sleep apnea were 2.4 times and women 5.2 times more likely to suffer from depression when compared to the ones with the apnea condition, Fox News reported.

Snorting, gasping or stopping breathing while asleep was associated with nearly all depression symptoms, including feeling hopeless and feeling like a failure, researcher Anne Wheaton, said.

We expected persons with sleep-disordered breathing to report trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, or feeling tired and having little energy, but not the other symptoms, Wheaton said.

The researches hence concluded that apart from the commonly known factors like insomnia and unrefreshing sleep, another important factor linked to depression could be breathing problems during sleep and should be taken into account while treating them.

Depression