Takeaway
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has a high prevalence (90.6%) among patients with mild-moderate Alzheimer disease (AD).
- OSA is not associated with poorer cognition.
Why this matters
- Findings suggest that treating OSA may not improve cognition, but further longitudinal study is needed.
Study design
- A cross-sectional cohort of 128 patients with AD.
- OSA was assessed by polysomnography as an apnea-hypoapnea index >5 events/hour.
- Cognition was assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination and extensive neuropsychological battery covering 7 domains.
- Funding: Spanish Respiratory Society; others.
Key results
- 90.6% of patients had OSA, with severity ranging from mild OSA (22.7%) to moderate OSA (28.9%) to severe OSA (39.1%).
- The cohort displayed normal values of daytime sleepiness (median Epworth Sleepiness Scale score, 5).
- The most common OSA symptoms were nycturia (89.1%) and snoring (71.1%).
- Patients with and without OSA did not differ in performance in any of the 7 cognitive domains.
- They also did not differ in the prevalence of the APOE ε4 genotype.
Limitations
- Cross-sectional, observational design.
- Single-center study.
References
References
