Summary: A large retrospective UK study found that men with untreated OSA have a higher risk of developing dementia—particularly vascular dementia—while CPAP users and women with OSA do not face this elevated risk.
Key Takeaways:
- Men with untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) had a 12% higher risk of developing all-cause dementia and a 29% higher risk of vascular dementia.
- The use of CPAP therapy in men with OSA was associated with no increased dementia risk, aligning their risk with the general population.
- Women with OSA did not have an elevated risk of developing dementia, indicating possible sex-specific mechanisms.
A study of electronic healthcare records links men who have untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with an increased risk of dementia. But women with OSA did not face an increased risk, and neither did men with OSA who used CPAP (compared to the general public).
Corresponding author Jingwa Wang, MPH, PhD, from the University of Birmingham, says in a release, “Using a large electronic healthcare dataset also meant we are able to see that women aren’t at risk in the same way that men are, which also corresponds with other studies that there are different factors that affect men and women developing dementia.”
The study published in BMJ Thorax reviewed 2.3 million healthcare records across 12 years in the United Kingdom, and found that among the 193,000 individuals with OSA there was a 12% higher risk of developing all-cause dementia and a specific 29% increased risk of developing vascular dementia. The risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease was unchanged.
The study used a data tool called DExTER to find relevant healthcare records of patients with OSA for use in the study, as well as up to four suitable individuals to act as a control group.
The resulting dataset of 193,600 patients with OSA was compared to more than half a million patients without OSA, and an average of a four-year period was reviewed to find patients who had been diagnosed with a type of dementia.
Analysis of the dataset found that OSA patients, regardless of age and body mass index, had an increased risk of developing all-cause and particularly vascular dementia.
Senior author Shamil Haroon, MBChB, PhD, MPH, BMedSci, MFPH, from the University of Birmingham, says in a release, “It also backs up other findings that may suggest that the periods of hypoxia, where there are lower levels of oxygen in the body, may be contributing to vascular dementia risk. Clinicians should consider these risks when supporting their patients with obstructive sleep apnea.”
