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cognitive functioning
About two-thirds of children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) — snoring or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) — have some degree of cognitive deficit, but the severity of the cognitive deficit has been notoriously difficult to correlate to the severity of the sleep-disordered breathing, suggesting that other important issues may be at play, or that the right factors were simply not being measured.
A study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine opens the door to understanding the complex relationship between sleep, breathing and brain function in a whole new way.
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Study results published in the September 1, 2008 issue of the journal Sleep shows that daytime sleeping during a rehabilitation stay predicts less functional recovery for older adults, with effects lasting as long as three months.
Results show that a higher percentage of daytime sleep during rehabilitation was significantly associated with less functional recovery from admission to discharge even after adjusting for other predictors such as mental status, hours of therapy received and reason for admission. More daytime sleeping during rehab remained a significant predictor of less functional recovery at a three-month follow-up.
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People with obstructive sleep apnea have been reported to have increased markers of oxidative stress and exhibit architectural changes in their brain tissue in areas involved in learning and memory. Chronic intermittent hypoxia in rats produce similar neurological deficit patterns.
“Obstructive sleep apnea has been increasingly recognized as a serious and frequent health condition with potential long-term morbidities that include learning and psychological disabilities,” wrote David Gozal, M.D., professor and director of Kosair Children’s Hospital Research Institute at the University of Louisville, lead author of the article.
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Interesting Apnea Statistics
~~ Apnea in United States ~~
As of May 2, 2009 at 9:47 p.m. (-0500) (ET), the U.S. population
was 306,340,710. Sleep researchers estimate approximately seven percent
of the population suffers from obstructive sleep apnea. Using that
estimate, there are potentially 21,443,850 apneics in the U.S.
~~ Apnea around the world ~~
As of May 2, 2009 at 9:47 p.m. (-0500) (ET), the world population
was 6,777,286,604. Sleep researchers estimate approximately seven percent
of the population suffers from obstructive sleep apnea. Using that
estimate, there are potentially 474,410,062 apneics in the world.
