Sleep-disordered breathing linked to functional decline

(HealthDay)—For older women, sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with functional decline, according to a study published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Adam P. Spira, Ph.D., from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study involving 302 women (mean age, 82.3 years) to examine the correlation between SDB and decline in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). Participants completed a single night of unattended polysomnography. They also provided data relating to difficulty with IADLs and mobility, and repeated these measures five years later.

The researchers found that, compared to women with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) <5, women with an AHI of ≥15 at baseline had significantly higher odds of an increase in the number of IADL difficulties (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.22) and of incident IADL difficulty (aOR, 2.43), after adjustment for confounding variables. No correlation was seen between AHI and mobility difficulty. Compared with those in the lowest tertile, women in the middle and highest tertiles of oxygen desaturation index had significantly higher odds of an increase in the number of IADL difficulties (middle tertile aOR, 2.64; highest tertile aOR, 2.17) and of incident IADL difficulty (middle tertile aOR, 2.84; highest tertile aOR, 3.07).

"Research is needed to determine whether treatment of SDB prevents functional decline," the authors write.

Two authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.