Sleep disturbances are linked to cognitive aging in older adults. However, the long-term effects of sleep changes on cognitive decline in the oldest individuals remain uncertain. To address this, a study has examined the association between different sleep patterns and the risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in 733 women without cognitive impairment (mean age: 82.5) over a median follow-up period of five years.
The study found that 22.4% of participants developed MCI, while 12.7% developed dementia over the follow-up period. Researchers identified three sleep-wake change profiles: stable sleep (43.8%), declining nighttime sleep (34.9%), and increasing sleepiness during daytime and nighttime (21.3%). After adjusting for multiple factors, women with increasing sleepiness had twice the risk of dementia (odd ratio [OR] 2.21) compared to those with stable sleep, while no…
