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Sleep and Breathing
Published in: Sleep and Breathing 1/2015

01-03-2015 | Original Article

Cognition and nocturnal disturbance in OSA: the importance of accounting for age and premorbid intelligence

Authors: Michelle Olaithe, Timothy C. Skinner, David Hillman, Peter E. Eastwood, Romola S. Bucks

Published in: Sleep and Breathing | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Introduction

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder that is associated with impaired attention, memory and executive function. However, the mechanisms underlying such dysfunction are unclear. To determine the influence of sleep fragmentation and hypoxia, this study examined the effect of sleep fragmentation and hypoxia on cognition in OSA, while controlling for potentially confounding variables including sleepiness, age and premorbid intelligence.

Method

Participants with and without OSA (N = 150) were recruited from the general community and a tertiary hospital sleep clinic. All underwent comprehensive, laboratory-based polysomnography (PSG) and completed assessments of cognition including attention, short- and long-term memory and executive function. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to construct a theoretically-driven model to examine the relationships between hypoxia and sleep fragmentation, and cognitive function.

Results

Although after controlling for IQ, increased sleep disturbance was a significant predictor of decreased attention (p = 0.04) and decreased executive function (p = 0.05), controlling for age removes these significant relationships. No significant predictors of memory function were found.

Conclusions

The mechanisms underlying the effects of OSA on cognition remain to be defined. Implications are discussed in light of these findings.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
Other indices of sleep fragmentation (e.g. TST, ArI during REM) and the following measures of hypoxia: CT90, Lowest SaO2 during REM, Mean SaO2 during REM, were considered and tested. None accounted for sufficient variance in cognitive performance to be included.
 
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Metadata
Title
Cognition and nocturnal disturbance in OSA: the importance of accounting for age and premorbid intelligence
Authors
Michelle Olaithe
Timothy C. Skinner
David Hillman
Peter E. Eastwood
Romola S. Bucks
Publication date
01-03-2015
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Sleep and Breathing / Issue 1/2015
Print ISSN: 1520-9512
Electronic ISSN: 1522-1709
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-014-1000-2

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