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Researchers have demonstrated that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can cause early cognitive decline in middle-aged men, even without the presence of other health conditions or obesity. The study, a rare examination of non-obese, otherwise healthy men with OSA, found significant deficits in executive functioning, visuospatial memory, vigilance, sustained attention, impulse control, and social cognition.
Startling Link Uncovered: Sleep Apnea Directly Tied to Early Cognitive Decline
TOPICS:CognitionFrontiersNeuroscienceObesitySleep ScienceBy FRONTIERS JUNE 29, 2023
Researchers have demonstrated that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can cause early cognitive decline in middle-aged men, even without the presence of other health conditions or obesity. The study, a rare examination of non-obese, otherwise healthy men with OSA, found significant deficits in executive functioning, visuospatial memory, vigilance, sustained attention, impulse control, and social cognition.
New evidence indicates that obstructive sleep apnea can cause cognitive impairments in middle-aged men, regardless of whether they have other health issues or are overweight.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a potentially dangerous health condition. It occurs when, during sleep, the throat muscles of afflicted individuals become lax and obstruct the flow of air to the lungs, causing them to frequently stop breathing. Common indicators of OSA encompass disturbed sleep, pronounced snoring, daytime lethargy, and persistent morning headaches – which can profoundly impair the lives of sufferers and their partners.
Currently, OSA is underdiagnosed, with estimates suggesting it may affect as much as 15 to 30% of men and 10 to 15% of women, equating to roughly 1 billion adults globally. Strikingly, an estimated 80% of these individuals are likely unaware they have the condition. Key risk factors associated with OSA include advancing age, obesity, tobacco use, persistent nasal congestion, hypertension, and being male.Now, researchers from the UK, Germany, and Australia have shown for the first time that in middle-aged men, OSA can also cause early cognitive decline, even in patients who are otherwise healthy and not obese.
The results were recently published in the journal Frontiers in Sleep.“We show poorer executive functioning and visuospatial memory and deficits in vigilance, sustained attention, and psychomotor and impulse control in men with OSA. Most of these deficits had previously been ascribed to co-morbidities,” said Dr. Ivana Rosenzweig, a neuropsychiatrist who heads the Sleep and Brain Plasticity Centre at King’s College London, and the study’s lead author.“We also demonstrated for the first time that OSA can cause significant deficits in social cognition.”
