Tag Archives: obstructive sleep apnea

Have Sleep Apnea? Using Your CPAP Device Consistently May Slow Memory Loss

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Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) refers to having problems with your memory and decision-making abilities. Usually, people with MCI experience few if any problems with performing their daily activities. Experts say that MCI could be a stage between normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease.

A growing number of studies suggest that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), or “sleep-disordered breathing,” is associated with a higher risk for memory problems and for problems with thinking and making decisions. OSA is a common condition in older adults who have MCI. Symptoms include disturbed sleep due to reduced or momentarily stopped breathing at night.

If your healthcare practitioner diagnoses you with OSA, she may recommend treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a pressurized mask worn during sleep. CPAP treatment eliminates obstructive sleep apnea. However, to be effective, people must use the CPAP machine regularly for at least four hours per night. Only 30 to 60 percent of people who are prescribed CPAP therapy use the machine regularly as prescribed. Additionally, few studies have confirmed whether or not CPAP treatment delays cognitive decline. Now researchers in a new study examined whether using CPAP treatment had an effect on slowing cognitive decline. Their study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Continue reading →

Recognizing and Diagnosing Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Older Adults

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Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common condition that causes brief, repeated pauses in breathing throughout the night as you sleep. OSA is linked to several serious health problems, including heart disease, difficulties with thinking and memory, depression, car crashes, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Having OSA can also cause a decline in quality of life, and increase the risk of motor vehicle crashes.

Until now, researchers have not explored on a national scale how many older adults may be at risk for OSA, or how often healthcare providers evaluate and treat the condition in older people. Recently, a team of researchers from the University of Michigan designed a first-of-its-kind study to answer those questions. Their work was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The researchers studied information from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a survey of Medicare beneficiaries that assesses the impact of aging on health and well-being. Funded by the National Institute on Aging, NHATS has conducted five annual face-to-face interviews in older adults’ homes since 2011. The NHATS research team has collected detailed information about participants’ health, physical and mental capabilities, living conditions, daily activities, and social support. In 2013, NHATS interviews also asked beneficiaries questions about sleep disturbances and symptoms of sleep apnea. Many of the NHATS sleep questions resembled questions from a common sleep apnea screening questionnaire known as the “STOP-Bang” questionnaire, which got its name from the symptoms it assesses: snoring, tiredness, observed apneas (pauses in breathing), high blood pressure, body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height that assesses levels of under/overweight and obesity), age, neck circumference, and gender. Continue reading →