the Alzheimer disease It is the most common form of dementia, whose pathophysiological process begins several decades before the appearance of the first symptoms. Many factors play a role in the development of dementia, some of which may be modifiable, such as sleep disturbances. Whether dementia and sleep are associated, previous studies report conflicting results.
First study: follow-up of participants for 14 years
A study conducted by the Montpellier Institute of Neurosciences focused on examining the relationship between self-reported sleep parameters (nighttime/daytime sleep duration, time of getting up/going to bed, time spent in bed, daytime sleepiness, and symptoms of insomnia) and the incidence of dementia during a 14-year follow-up. The sleep parameter trajectories of participants aged 65 years and older were modeled and compared up to 14 years before the onset of possible dementia.
The researchers conducted the study from a French cohort (in Dijon, Bordeaux and Montpellier): 182 patients developed dementia during follow-up, while 719 controls did not. Over 14 years, six assessments collected self-reported sleep parameters and administered cognitive tests to participants.
” Prolonged sleep duration (nine or more hours), being persistently sleepy, or becoming a prolonged sleeper during follow-up were associated with the incidence of dementia. Sleep duration trajectories increased faster in dementia cases than in controls, beginning 12 years before dementia diagnosis “, the authors write. In addition, an earlier bedtime was observed in subjects who developed dementia compared to controls (up to 8 years before diagnosis).
The other parameters studied had no impact on the risk of dementia. Thus, a duration of
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