Mireia Dalmases, Spain
Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova-Santa Maria, IRBLleida, Lleida, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain. Translational Research in Respiratory MedicineAuthor Of 1 Presentation
THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF SLEEP IN PREDICTING THE COGNITIVE EVOLUTION OF MILD-MODERATE ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE PATIENTS
Abstract
Aims
To investigate the association between sleep and the cognitive evolution of mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease patients.
Methods
Observational, prospective, single-center study, including consecutive patients diagnosed with mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease (NCT02814045). The individuals were submitted to overnight polysomnography, followed by neuropsychological evaluations at baseline and after 12 months of follow-up. Principal component analysis characterized the sleep architecture of the cohort into two main types: individuals with a propensity to deepen their sleep (deep sleepers) and individuals who spent most of the time in the lighter sleep stage (light sleepers).
Results
The cohort included 125 subjects with a median [IQR] of 75.0 [72.0;80.0] years. The mean difference (95% CI) in the Mini-mental state examination score at 12 months between deep and light sleepers was -1.51 (95% CI: -2.47 to -0.54; p-value = 0.002). Accordingly, sleep depth and cognitive evolution presented a dose-response relationship (p-for-trend = 0.02). Regarding the specific cognitive subdomains, we observed differences related to the processing speed, demonstrated by the Stroop words test (-1.48; 95% CI: -2.58 to -0.38; p-value = 0.009), and to the executive function, demonstrated by the Verbal fluency test (-1.70; 95% CI: -2.85 to -0.55; p-value = 0.004).
Conclusions
Considering that light sleepers presented an increased cognitive decline, the sleep profile may have a predictive role in the cognitive evolution of mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease patients. The modifiable nature of sleep sets this behavior as a possible useful intervention for the improvement of cognitive evolution.