Katie Moraes de Almondes
Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Title: Insomnia and risk of dementia in the elderly
Biography
Biography: Katie Moraes de Almondes
Abstract
There are cross-sectional evidences of an association between sleep disorders and cognitive impairment on older adults. However, there is no consensus by means of longitudinal studies data on the increased risk of developing dementia related to insomnia. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the risk of incident all-cause dementia in individuals with insomnia in population-based prospective cohort studies. The results showed that insomnia was associated with a significant risk for dementia. In addition, we have data showing that sleep complaints in non-demented elderly, mainly insomnia, provoke phonemic fluency, motor programming, inhibitory control and working memory impairment. All these processes for which sleep complaints determined impairment are cognitive abilities controlled and can be considered executive functions, especially working memory and inhibitory control. Controlled processes as attention, inhibitory control and working memory are linked to the functioning of frontal lobes. Therefore, it is important to consider that the frontal areas are vulnerable for sleep disorders. In addition, sleep disorders increase the risk of cognitive decline. On the other hand, executive functions are predictors of dementia in older adults. These results provide evidences that future studies should investigate dementia prevention among elderly individuals through screening and proper management of insomnia.