Sleep Apnea and Cognitive Impairment

           Sleep apnea is a problem that many people face. Sleep apnea is a respiratory condition where individuals cease to breathe for seconds to minutes multiple times throughout the night. Michael W. Calik, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois at Chicago, researches sleep apnea. In his talk at Loyola University Chicago, Calik reported that as much as 28% of women and 26% of males in the United States may have sleep apnea. As you can see, sleep apnea is a disorder that affects many Americans today.

Alice Park, in her TIME article The Scary Connection Between Snoring and Dementia, cites a study done at New York University’s Center for Brain Health that found that those with sleep apnea show mild cognitive impairment approximately 12 years earlier than individuals that do not have sleep apnea. Additionally, this study found a connection between sleep apnea and Alzheimer’s disease. According to Calik, other consequences of untreated sleep apnea include mood alterations and decline in daytime functioning.

Luckily, treatment of sleep apnea can reduce these scary consequences. As stated by the study cited by Park, a device called a continuous positive airway pressure machine can be used to treat sleep apnea. Calik explains that these machines output air in one’s upper airway, keeping this airway open, preventing an interruption of breathing during sleep. Unfortunately, continuous positive airway pressure machines can be loud and uncomfortable. As a result, many individuals do not use them to treat their sleep apnea. In his research, Calik seeks to improve the consistency of the use of continuous positive airway pressure machines and search for other forms of treatment for sleep apnea.

After reviewing many studies of different types of interventions to improve the use of these machines, Calik concludes that behavioral and educational interventions may be the best method. In addition, Park explains that informing individuals with sleep apnea that not treating their condition may be inhibiting their memory may increase the use of continuous positive airway pressure machines. Informing patients of the consequences of not treating sleep apnea and combining this education with behavioral interventions will likely increase the use of these machines.

In his research, Calik mentions another form of treatment for sleep apnea that is an oral appliance. One advantage to this form of treatment is that it can be modified to a patient’s comfort. Unfortunately, Calik explains that predicting which individuals would prefer an oral appliance is difficult. As a result, a long-term study should examine the effectiveness of this oral appliance.

Calik also examines a couple of other types of treatment for sleep apnea. First, he looks at a form of treatment that uses electrical stimulation. By stimulating the hypoglossal nerve, the upper airway muscles would not collapse and patients would remain breathing without interruption throughout the night. Second, Calik discusses drug treatments for sleep apnea. Although there are many different drugs that have been developed, more research must be done in order to fully understand the long-term effects of these drugs.

Although Calik and Park have shown that there are many negative consequences of sleep apnea, these consequences can be avoided by treating the sleep apnea. By increasing the consistency of continuous positive airway pressure machines, individuals with sleep apnea can prevent the cognitive impairment associated with sleep apnea. Once more research has been done on the alternative forms of treatment discussed by Calik, a new form of treatment that is less intrusive to patients will likely be implemented.

Link to Article: http://time.com/3822965/snoring-dementia-alzheimers/

References

Park, A. (2015, April 15). The Scary Connection Between Snoring and Dementia. Retrieved May 1, 2015.

Weaver, T., Calik, M., Farabi, S., Galang-Boquiren, M., Kapella, M., Prasad, B., & Carley, D. (n.d.). Innovative treatments for adults with obstructive sleep apnea. Nature and Science of Sleep.