Association of sleep duration in middle and old age with an incidence of dementia

• Changes in sleep patterns are common in persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

• These changes are believed to result from sleep-wake cycle dysregulation due to pathophysiological processes in dementia, particularly those affecting the hypothalamus and the brainstem.

• Using data from 7959 participants of the Whitehall II study, researchers examined the association between sleep duration and incidence of dementia (521 diagnosed cases) using a 25-year follow-up.

• Here researchers reported higher dementia risk associated with a sleep duration of six hours or less at age 50 and 60, compared with a normal (7 h) sleep duration, although this was imprecisely estimated for sleep duration at age 70.

• Persistent short sleep duration at age 50, 60, and 70 compared to persistent normal sleep duration was also associated with a 30% increased dementia risk independently of sociodemographic, behavioral, cardiometabolic, and mental health factors.

• These findings suggest that short sleep duration in midlife is associated with an increased risk of late-onset dementia.

Published: 20 April 2021

source:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22354-2

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22354-2