Preexisting Depression and Daytime Sleepiness in Women and Men

Background: Sleep problems can persist following the treatment of depression and remission of symptoms. The extent to which having a previous history of depression may be associated with current daytime sleepiness is largely unknown. Methods: Data were obtained from the spring 2017 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) survey (92 institutions) which assessed self-reported health in U.S. college students (n = 41,670). Among the sample, 93.5% were 18-24 year of age, and 69.6% women. Logistic regression estimated the association between reported prior lifetime diagnosis of depression and daytime sleepiness from the past 7 days, while adjusting for depressive symptoms and antidepressant use from the past year. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models stratified by gender were performed. Results: Among those who reported problems with sleepiness, 31.6% women and 19.4% men had a preexisting depression diagnosis. Individuals with preexisting depression were more likely than those without this diagnosis to report sleepiness problems (women: OR = 1.4, CI = 1.3-1.6, p OR = 1.2, CI = 1.0-1.4, p < .01). However, this association differed significantly by gender, with women with a preexisting depression diagnosis having a 13.0% greater likelihood of sleepiness compared to men. Conclusions: Those with a preexisting depression diagnosis, and specifically women, may be at risk for daytime sleepiness even in the absence of current depressive mood-related symptoms. Given that many individuals are at risk for daytime sleepiness, mental health initiatives, including those on college campuses, should incorporate sleep hygiene within their programming.