On 22 October, researchers from USA published a study in the journal SLEEP Advances examining how obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may contribute to dementia risk, focusing on sex-specific differences over a 10-year period. They analysed data from 18,815 adults aged 50 and older in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the United States, all dementia-free at the study's start. The findings revealed that OSA was more common in men (68%) than in women (31%).
However, by age 80, women with OSA showed a 4.7% higher cumulative incidence of dementia compared to those without OSA. For men, the increase was 2.5%. Even after adjusting for age-related factors, OSA was still significantly linked to dementia risk in both sexes, with the effect remaining stronger in women. This study suggests that OSA, a potentially modifiable condition, could be an overlooked factor in dementia prevention, particularly in women. The study can be accessed here: