AUTHOR=Palmer Katie , Mitolo Micaela , Burgio Francesca , Meneghello Francesca , Venneri Annalena 

TITLE=Sleep Disturbance in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Association With Cognitive Functioning. A Case-Control Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00360

DOI=10.3389/fnagi.2018.00360

ISSN=1663-4365

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> The aims of the current study are to (1) report the frequency of specific sleep disturbance symptoms in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and cognitive healthy older persons; (2) examine whether overall poor sleep and specific sleep disturbance symptoms are more common in persons with MCI compared to cognitive healthy older controls and; (3) examine the association between sleep disturbances and performance in general and specific cognitive domains in persons with MCI and separately in cognitive healthy older persons.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Data were collected at the Fondazione Ospedale San Camillo Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), Venice, Italy as part of the European VPH-DARE@IT project. We included 69 persons with MCI (mean age 75.7; <italic>SD</italic> = 7.7) and 72 sex-matched cognitively healthy controls (mean age 71.8; <italic>SD</italic> = 7.0). Participants underwent extensive neuropsychological assessment and evaluation of subjective sleep performance with the Sleep Continuity in Alzheimer’s Disease Scale(SCADS).</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> A fifth of MCI patients (21.7%, <italic>n</italic> = 15) had poor sleep compared to 15.3% (<italic>n</italic> = 11) of cognitively healthy controls. MCI patients had a 3.2 higher odds of having poor sleep compared to cognitively healthy controls after adjustment for age, education, sex, and general cognitive functioning (Odds Ratio (OR) = 3.2; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.1–9.2). Persons who reported waking up twice or more during the night had higher odds of being MCI compared to those who never wake or wake only once (OR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.1–6.1). In MCI patients, poor sleep was associated with better general cognitive functioning and short-term working memory, whereas in cognitive healthy older persons poor sleep was associated with impairment in episodic memory performance and executive functioning.</p><p><bold>Discussion:</bold> Our results confirm previous studies showing that sleep disturbances are common in MCI, and this may be due to an ongoing neurodegenerative process rather than a symptom of cognitive impairment. Future research with objective sleep measurements are needed in MCI as well as interventions to improve sleep with the aim of preventing cognitive decline.</p>