Do YOU have sleep apnoea? You’re at risk of dementia

tunisante July 23, 2017

Scientists say they have found a clear link between sleep apnoea and dementia
They found it can lead to a plaque build-up in the brain – a sign of the disease
Screening patients and treating the condition could help cut rates, they said
Doctors said the link was likely to be caused by the brain being starved of oxygen
This can damage blood vessels and disrupt the balance of an enzyme which helps regulate the plaque-causing protein

Rosie Taylor for the Daily Mail

Published:
17:01 EDT, 18 July 2017

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Updated:
19:10 EDT, 18 July 2017

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Having sleep apnoea raises the risk of dementia by nearly 30 per cent, experts have warned.

Scientists say they have found a clear link between obstructive sleep apnoea – which affects around 2.5 million Britons – and build-up of plaque in the brain which causes dementia.

They said screening patients and treating the condition could help cut dementia rates.

In sleep apnoea, the walls of the throat relax during sleep and stop breathing. Often it causes sufferers to unknowingly wake up from deeper sleep to take a breath, meaning their sleep patterns are interrupted.

Doctors said the link with dementia was likely to be caused by the brain being starved of oxygen during sleep, which can damage blood vessels and disrupt the balance of an enzyme which helps regulate the protein which causes plaque.

Scientists say they have found a clear link between obstructive sleep apnoea and build-up of plaque in the brain which causes dementia

Dr Yue Leng, of the University of California, San Francisco, said data from 14 studies showed people with sleep apnoea were 26 per cent more likely to develop dementia.

‘Modifiable risk factor’

She said: ‘Sleep apnoea may actually be a modifiable risk factor for dementia.

‘It is a treatable condition while dementia is unfortunately an irreversible disease, so by treating sleep apnoea that could lead to a reduced risk of dementia.

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‘This means at the very least clinicians should really pay more attention to their patients’ sleep.’

Other findings

Researchers from Wheaton College, Illinois, also presented a series of studies on sleep apnoea to the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London.

In one set of studies, scientists examining a total of 1,314 scans found the brains of people with sleep apnoea contained more plaque.

THE RISE OF SLEEP APNOEA

The number of tests to diagnose people with sleep disorders has doubled in the last ten years, statistics revealed last month.

A total of 147,610 sleep disorder tests were carried out in England last year, while only 69,919 exams were carried out in 2007 to 2008.

Sleep disorder tests are designed to diagnose sleep apnoea, a condition that causes sufferers to stop breathing in bed.

Experts said the rise may be down to more awareness about the serious health risks of sleep apnoea, which include increased chances of heart disease and stroke.

The condition affects around 1.5 million people in the UK, but doctors warn many more people have not been formally diagnosed.

In the US, sleep apnoea affects 18 million people, or one in 15 Americans, according to the American Sleep Association.

They also found sleep apnoea patients built up levels of plaque faster over the same time period as those without the condition.

The effect was the same whether people were otherwise healthy or had mild cognitive impairment – an early sign that someone could develop dementia.

Monitoring sleep

Amanda Shim, of Wheaton College, said: ‘If we know there is an associated between sleep disordered breathing and Alzheimer’s disease, then patients with sleep disordered breathing should be monitored for signs of cognitive impairment.

‘Treating sleep disordered breathing could potentially delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, or at least lessen its effects.’

Wide reaching impacts

Dr Carol Routledge, director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said of the study: ‘Conditions such as sleep disordered breathing can get in the way of a restful night’s sleep, and may have wider reaching health impacts.

‘We know that Alzheimer’s proteins can start to build-up over a decade before symptoms appear so it is often difficult to tease apart cause and effect in the relationship between sleep problems and dementia.

‘Understanding how sleep disorders could affect our risk of dementia is of great importance, especially if managing these conditions could help to reduce the number of people developing dementia.’

Various associations

Dr Doug Brown, of the Alzheimer’s Society, added: ‘Researchers are increasingly finding associations between the early physical signs of Alzheimer’s disease and poor quality sleep, but we don’t know whether poor sleep directly increases your risk of Alzheimer’s.

‘As certain sleep disorders can be treatable, the next stage is to test some of these treatments in a controlled research setting to understand whether they could be effective in reducing the risk of dementia.

‘It’s important to talk to your GP if you have a sleep disorder and are concerned about your health.’