According to a recent American study, people with obstructive sleep apnea who are being treated are less likely to have Alzheimer or another form of dementia.
Treating sleep apnea can prevent you from suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. This is the conclusion of researchers at the University of Michigan in the United States. According to papers published on March 26 in the journal Sleep, treating sleep apnea reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. The aim of this study was to observe the links between continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, which consists of sleeping with a mask through which you will breathe air throughout the night, and the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
The impact of sleep on cognitive function
The researchers studied more than 53,000 patients over the age of 65 with obstructive sleep apnea. Some of the study participants were treated with continuous positive pressure for obstructive sleep apnea. They found that these people with CPAP were less likely to be diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease than others who suffered from sleep apnea but were not treated.
“We found a significant link between the continued use of positive airway pressure and the reduced risk of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia over three years, suggesting that CPAP can protect people with OSA from dementia,” concludes Galit Levi Dunietz, lead author of this study at Michigan Health Lab.
The results highlight the impact of sleep on cognitive function.
“If there is a causal route between the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and the risk of dementia, as our results suggest, the diagnosis and effective treatment of sleep apnea could play a key role in the cognitive health of older people, ”says another study author, Tiffany J. Braley, an associate professor of neurology at Michigan Health Lab.
Apnea can cause heart problems
As a reminder, obstructive sleep apnea causes you to stop breathing several times throughout the night. Breathing breaks last 10 or 30 seconds or more, occur at least 5 times an hour and can be repeated a hundred times a night. It is a nocturnal ventilation disorder that also has consequences for daily activities.
Excessive daytime sleepiness is the most common consequence of this syndrome. Indeed, a very disturbed and jerky sleep causes the desire to sleep during the day, a decrease in alertness, even uncontrollable drowsiness. In this regard, there is a significant increase in the risk of driving accidents or accidents at work among people suffering from OSAHS. Difficulty concentrating, memory problems or concentration are also associated with sleep apnea syndrome.
Lack of oxygen caused by apnea (hypoxia) can cause long-term heart arrhythmias and high blood pressure. OSAHS therefore increases mortality and especially that caused by cardiovascular.
“Among the consequences of sleep apnea, there is also an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, high cholesterol and depression,” said Dr. Madiha Ellaffi, a pulmonologist, according to Medisite.
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