Sleep-Disordered Breathing, Hypoxia, and Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Older Women

Abstract

Sleep-disordered breathing, a disorder characterized by recurrent arousals from sleep and intermittent hypoxemia, is common among older adults and affects up to 60% of elderly populations.¹ A number of adverse health outcomes including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes have been associated with sleep-disordered breathing.^2-5 Cognitive impairment also has been linked to sleep-disordered breathing, but the majority of studies have been cross-sectional or have relied on nonobjective measures of sleep-disordered breathing, thus limiting the ability to draw conclusions on the directionality of the association.^6-8 It remains unclear whether sleep-disordered breathing precedes cognitive impairment in community-dwelling elderly individuals.