title: Four-year follow-up of mortality and sleep-related respiratory disturbance in non-demented seniors.
abstract: To ascertain whether sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in the elderly is associated with increased mortality, a prospective cohort study with 4-year follow-up was conducted at a retirement village complex in Sydney, Australia. The subjects were 163 non-demented retirement village residents. Logistic regression was used to assess SDB and co-morbidity as independent predictors of mortality. Respiratory disturbance index (RDI) was measured in the home; those subjects with RDIs > or = 15 were classified as having SDB. Co-morbidity was measured by an index of Burden of Illness based on the medical history obtained at baseline. At 4 years, 27% (4/15) of those subjects with RDIs > or = 15 and 22% (33/148) of those with RDIs < 15 were dead. RDI had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.00 (95% CI: 0.96, 1.04). Burden of Illness had an OR of 1.90 (95% CI: 1.34, 2.71). Adjustment for age and sex did not alter these findings. Significant predictors of mortality from the illness measure were a history of hypertension, Parkinson's disease and other severe illnesses (usually cancer). RDI was not a predictor of mortality in this population of non-demented seniors, where the prevalence of high levels of RDI was low.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology