Sleep-disordered breathing and cognitive impairment in elderly Japanese-American men.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the association between sleep-disordered breathing and cognitive functioning in an elderly cohort of Japanese-American men.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
The Honolulu-Asia Aging Study of Sleep Apnea, Oahu, Hawaii.


METHODS
718 men between 79 and 97 years of age examined in 1999 and 2000.


METHODS
Apnea-hypopnea index from in-home overnight polysomnography, performance on the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument, body mass index, neck circumference, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, snoring, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression 11-item depression scale, physical disability, and history of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and dementia.


RESULTS
Less than 30% of the men had no sleep-disordered breathing (apnea-hypopnea index < 5) and nearly one-fifth (19%) had severe sleep-disordered breathing (apnea-hypopnea index > or = 30). Severe sleep-disordered breathing was associated with higher body mass index, habitual snoring, and daytime drowsiness. No association was found between sleep-disordered breathing and cognitive functioning, including measures of memory function, concentration, and attention.


CONCLUSIONS
Sleep-disordered breathing was associated with more drowsiness but not with poor performance on standardized cognitive tests used to screen for Alzheimer disease and other dementias in older persons. Because a healthy-participant effect may have contributed to this finding, more extensive cognitive testing may be necessary to reveal more subtle deficits from sleep-disordered breathing.
Foley
Daniel J
DJ
Laboratory of Epidemiology, Demography, and Biometry, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. foleyd@gw.nia.nih.gov
Masaki
Kamal
K
White
Lon
L
Larkin
Emma K
EK
Monjan
Andrew
A
Redline
Susan
S
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017286:Polysomnography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology