Sleep apnea and the risk of dementia: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Summary Sleep apnea (SA) is potentially a modifiable risk factor for dementia. However, its associations to specific aetiologies of dementia remain uncertain. A systematic review and meta‐analysis of cohort studies investigating the association between sleep apnea and specific aetiologies of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Lewy body dementia (LBD), vascular dementia (VaD), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) was performed. The use of biomarkers to support clinical diagnoses in eligible studies was collected. Eleven studies were included, comprising 1,333,424 patients. Patients with sleep apnea had an increased risk of developing any type of neurocognitive disorder (HR: 1.43 [95% CI 1.26–1.62]), Alzheimer's disease (HR: 1.28 [95% CI 1.16–1.41]), and Parkinson's disease (HR: 1.54 [95% CI 1.30–1.84]). No statistically significant association was found for vascular dementia. One study reported a two‐fold increased risk for Lewy body dementia (HR: 2.06 [95% CI 1.45–2.91]). No studies investigated the risk for frontotemporal dementia and none of the studies reported results pertaining to biomarkers. Sleep apnea is associated with a significantly increased risk of dementia, particularly for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, but not for vascular dementia. Future studies should look at the impact of sleep apnea on specific dementia biomarkers.