Journal
SLEEP
Volume 44, Issue 4, Pages -Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa232
Keywords
aging; dementia; heart rate variability; mild cognitive impairment; sleep
Categories
Funding
- National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence to Optimise sleep in Brain Ageing and Neurodegeneration (CogSleep CRE) [APP1152945]
- CogSleep CRE scholarship
- Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Australian Research Council (NHMRC-ARC) Dementia Research Development Fellowships [APP1104003, APP1109618, APP1107247]
- NHMRC Dementia Leadership Fellowships [APP1139625, APP1135639]
- NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowship [APP1106974]
- NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence to Optimise Sleep in Brain Ageing and Neurodegeneration (CogSleep)
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The study found that older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) exhibited reduced parasympathetic function during non-rapid eye movement sleep, especially in those with amnestic MCI. This may serve as an early biomarker for dementia detection.
Study Objectives Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction, as measured by short-term diurnal heart rate variability (HRV), has been reported in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, it is unclear whether this impairment also exists during sleep in this group. We, therefore, compared overnight HRV during sleep in older adults with MCI and those with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI). Methods Older adults (n = 210) underwent overnight polysomnography. Eligible participants were characterized as multi-domain MCI or SCI. The multi-domain MCI group was comprised of amnestic and non-amnestic subtypes. Power spectral analysis of HRV was conducted on the overnight electrocardiogram during non-rapid eye movement (NREM), rapid eye movement (REM), N1, N2, N3 sleep stages, and wake periods. High-frequency HRV (HF-HRV) was employed as the primary measure to estimate parasympathetic function. Results The MCI group showed reduced HF-HRV during NREM sleep (p = 0.018), but not during wake or REM sleep (p > 0.05) compared to the SCI group. Participants with aMCI compared to SCI had the most pronounced reduction in HF-HRV across all NREM sleep stages-N1, N2, and N3, but not during wake or REM sleep. The naMCI sub-group did not show any significant differences in HF-HRV during any sleep stage compared to SCI. Conclusions Our study showed that amnestic MCI participants had greater reductions in HF-HRV during NREM sleep, relative to those with SCI, suggesting potential vulnerability to sleep-related parasympathetic dysfunction. HF-HRV, especially during NREM sleep, may be an early biomarker for dementia detection.
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