The mediating role of coping styles in illness perception and self-management in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has become a chronic disease that threatens human health. Self-management in patients with OSA can influence their quality of life, and illness perception and coping styles are relevant facilitators of self-management, but this specific relationship has not been adequately studied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status and relationship between illness perception, coping styles, and self-management behaviors in patients with OSA, and how coping styles mediate this relationship. This is a cross-sectional study. Conducted between September 2022 and March 2023, the study involved patients aged ≥18 years old in two hospitals who were diagnosed with OSA. The survey was conducted using the demographic characteristics questionnaire, the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, the Simple Coping Style Questionnaire, and the Self-management Behavior Questionnaire of patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Spearman’s correlation analysis was used for correlation analysis and multiple linear regression and structural equation models were used for mediation effect testing. There were 282 valid questionnaires, with a 94 % valid response rate. Higher levels of self-management behaviors were associated with low negative illness perceptions, high positive coping, and low negative coping. The study also demonstrated that the mediating effect accounted for 25.65 % (−0.049/−0.191) of the overall effect. Illness perceptions in OSA patients were negatively related to positive coping styles, positively related to negative coping styles, and negatively related to self-management. This study suggests that coping styles of OSA patients mediate illness perception and self-management. •The study proved that there is a significant correlation between illness perception, coping styles and self-management in patients with OSA，which provides a new and relevant theoretical basis for the field of sleep medicine.•Coping styles of OSA patients mediate the relationship between illness perception and self-management.