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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Aging Psychiatry
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1485127
Association between polysomnography-measured sleep parameters and cognitive impairment in elderly patients with depression
Provisionally accepted
Jiaojiao Zhou 1
Jianyu Que 2
Yida Wang 1 Li Ren 1 Saina Zhang 1 Xianglin Ma 1 Yintai Fan 1
Qinge Zhang 1* Xueyan Chen 1- 1 Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- 2 Xiamen Xianyue Hospital, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China
Objective: Limited research has explored the associations between sleep disturbances (SD) and cognitive impairment (CI) in elderly patients with depression, particularly by incorporating polysomnography (PSG) to assess sleep quality. This study was conducted to determine correlations between PSG-quantified sleep parameters and CI among individuals with late-life depression. Methods: 65 elderly patients with depression were included in the study. The sleep status was assessed using PSG, while cognitive function was evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The correlation between PSG-measured sleep parameters and cognitive function was analyzed. Results: CI was observed in 31 (47.7%) individuals. Depressed elderly patients with CI exhibited a shorter total sleep time (TST) compared to those without CI. Furthermore, their sleep efficiency (SE) was reduced as evidenced by shortened durations and proportions of N1 and N3. Conversely, the proportion of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and N2 increased in this group. Additionally, both the duration and proportion of rapid eye movement (REM) were decreased. Spearman correlation analysis revealed a linear relationship between the MMSE score and various sleep parameters. However, in the multiple linear regression model, only the proportions of NREM exhibited a significant linear relationship with the MMSE scores. Conclusions: In elderly patients with depression, a significant linear relationship was observed between the MMSE score and various sleep parameters measured by PSG.
Keywords: Polysomnography, Sleep, cognitive impairment, elderly patient, Depression
Received: 23 Aug 2024; Accepted: 17 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhou, Que, Wang, Ren, Zhang, Ma, Fan, Zhang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Qinge Zhang, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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