The Connection Between Sleep Apnea and Early Cognitive Decline

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can cause early cognitive decline, even in middle-aged men who are otherwise healthy and not obese, according to a study by researchers from the UK, Germany, and Australia. The study found that OSA was associated with cognitive decline, poorer executive function, and decreased impulsive control. The most significant deficits were demonstrated in tests that assess both simultaneous visual matching ability and short-term visual recognition memory for non-verbalizable patterns, tests of executive functioning and cued attentional set shifting, in vigilance and psychomotor functioning, and lastly, in social cognition and emotion recognition.