0481 Higher Risk Of OSA Is Associated With Poorer Affect Regulation Among The Severely Mentally Ill With A History Of Aggression: Evidence From A Forensic Setting

Abstract

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder with negative consequences on daytime functioning, including fatigue, irritability, and poorer memory. OSA is highly prevalent among individuals diagnosed with severe mental illnesses (SMI), likely due to an accumulation of risk factors (e.g., antipsychotics, obesity, smoking). Psychiatric patients in forensic settings display greater impulsivity and emotional dysregulation compared to non-forensic psychiatric patients. We hypothesized that forensic patients at higher risk of OSA will display greater impulsivity, aggression and emotional dysregulation than forensic patients at low risk of OSA. Methods: Study participants were male (n=55) and female (n=10) forensic patients (mean age = 38.5 ±11.5). All were diagnosed with at least one SMI (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder). Participants completed the Sleep Disorders Questionnaire 2 - Sleep Apnea subscale (SDQ-2-SA) to estimate risk of OSA, followed by other self-report surveys, including: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Correlation analyses were run to examine the relationship between SDQ-2-SA scores and the scores from the surveys measuring different aspects of affect as well as sleep quality and sleepiness. Results: Higher risk of OSA (as per the SDQ-2-SA) was positively correlated with poorer sleep (PSQI; r=0.34, p