Neurological

Sleep-deprived adults at higher risk of dementia

Adults who sleep 6 hours or less increase their risk of dementia by 30%, according to a study recently published in Nature Communications.

Existing studies that assess the duration of sleep over more than 10 years mainly include adults aged 65 and over. The researchers wanted to investigate the relationship between sleep and dementia from the age of 50.

The researchers used data from the Whitehall II cohort study, which was attended by British officials and spanning 30 years. They examined the relationship between sleep duration and dementia at the ages of 50, 60 and 70 years. They also examined the relationship between midlife mental disorders, sleep duration, and dementia.

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The study included data from 10,308 people – 7,959 had data on sleep duration at the age of 50.

Among the participants with sleep data, 521 developed dementia over a mean follow-up period of 24.6 (SD = 7.0) years. Follow-up was 25.7 (SD = 5.1) years in dementia cases and 24.6 (SD = 7.1) years in non-cases. Most dementia cases were diagnosed after age 70, with an average age at diagnosis of 77.1 years.

The lowest incidence of dementia occurred in adults who slept 7 hours a night, regardless of age.

A relationship between dementia and short sleep in 50 (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.01–1.48) and 60 years (HR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.10– 1.72) was observed. “There was no clear evidence of a link between long sleep times and incident dementia,” the researchers reported. The link between short sleep periods and dementia is not due to mental health, the researchers found.

Participants in the cohort were employed and healthier than the general population. These were both limitations of this study.

“A short sleep duration in midlife is associated with an increased risk of dementia,” the study researchers concluded. “Public health messages promoting good sleep hygiene can be especially important for people at higher risk of dementia.”

reference

Sabia S., Fayosse A., Dumurgier J. et al. Association of the duration of sleep in middle and old age with the occurrence of dementia. Nat Commun. Published on April 20, 2021. doi: 10.1038 / s41467-021-22354-2

This article originally appeared on Psychiatry Advisor

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