Daytime Sleepiness May Flag Predementia Risk

TOPLINE:

Sleep-related daytime dysfunction is associated with an almost threefold higher risk for motoric cognitive risk (MCR) syndrome, a predementia condition characterized by slow gait and cognitive issues, a new study shows.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers included 445 older adults without dementia (mean age, 76 years; 57% women).
• Sleep components were assessed, and participants were classified as poor or good sleepers using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire.
• The primary outcome was incidence of MCR syndrome.
• The mean follow-up duration was 2.9 years.

TAKEAWAY:

• During the study period, 36 participants developed MCR syndrome.
• Poor sleepers had a higher risk for incident MCR syndrome compared with good sleepers after adjustment for age, sex, and educational level (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.6; 95% CI, 1.3-5.0; P
• Sleep-related daytime dysfunction, defined as excessive sleepiness and lower enthusiasm for activities, was the only sleep component linked to a significant risk for MCR syndrome in fully adjusted models (aHR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.5-7.4; P
• Prevalent MCR syndrome was not significantly associated with poor sleep quality (odds ratio, 1.1), suggesting that the relationship is unidirectional.

IN PRACTICE:

“Establishing the relationship between sleep dysfunction and MCR [syndrome] risk is important because early intervention may offer the best hope for preventing dementia,” the investigators wrote.

“Our findings emphasize the need for screening for sleep issues. There’s potential that people could get help with their sleep issues and prevent cognitive decline later in life,” lead author Victoire Leroy, MD, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City, added in a press release. 

SOURCE:

The study was published online on November 6 in Neurology.

LIMITATIONS: 

Study limitations included the lack of objective sleep measurements and potential recall bias in self-reported sleep complaints, particularly among participants with cognitive issues. In addition, the relatively short follow-up period may have resulted in a lower number of incident MCR syndrome cases. The sample population was also predominantly White (80%), which may have limited the generalizability of the findings to other populations.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging. No conflicts of interest were reported.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.