Clinical Focus ›› 2022, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (7): 607-611.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-583X.2022.07.004

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Correlations between sleep disorder and cognitive function in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment

Li Zhongmei1,2, Ran Li1, Jiang Yi1, Guo Zhiwei1, Mu Qiwen1,2()   

  1. 1. Department of Imaging,Nanchong Central Hospital,Nanchong 637000,China
    2. Department of Clinical Medical College,Southwest Medical University,Luzhou 646000,China
  • Received:2021-09-30 Online:2022-07-20 Published:2022-08-30
  • Contact: Mu Qiwen E-mail:muqiwen99@yahoo.com

Abstract:

Objective To explore the sleep disorders (SD) in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and corresponding correlations with cognitive function. Methods A total of 171 eligible patients with MCI in a community located in Nanchong, Sichuan from November 2018 to January 2019 were included. The overall sleep conditions of patients was assessed by the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). The enrolled patients were divided into MCI with SD group (MCI-SD group) and MCI without SD group (MCI-NSD group) according to scoring results. Montreal cognitive assessment-basic (MoCA-B), mini-mental status examination (MMSE), auditory verbal learning test (AVLT), Boston naming test (BNT), animal verbal fluency test (AFT), trail making test (TMT) were applied to evaluate the overall cognition, memory, language and executive function of MCI patients, and the differences in overall cognitive function and cognitive domain between two groups were comparatively analyzed. Results SD was found in 70 (40.9%) out of 171 MCI patients, and the differences in the gender, age and education level between two groups were not statistically significant (all P>0.05), while the differences in the sleep quality, time of sleep onset, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, night sleep disorders, hypnotic drug and daytime function were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Compared to the MCI-NSD group, MoCA-B, MMSE, and BNT scores of MCI-SD group were significantly lowered, and the total time spent on TMT-A was significantly increased (all P<0.05). The time to fall asleep in the MCI-SD group was negatively correlated with the total score of MMSE and positively correlated with the total time spent in TMT-A; the sleep efficiency was negatively correlated with total scores of MMSE; total scores of PSQI were negatively correlated with total scores of MoCA-B and MMSE and were positively correlated with the total time spent in TMT-A. The total time spent on BNT and TMT-A was considered to be an independent risk factor for MCI patients complicated with SD (all P<0.05). Conclusion MCI patients are found to have higher incidence of SD, and long-term sleep disorder may lead to or aggravate the decline of cognitive dysfunction, especially the impacts on language naming and executive function may be more significant.

Key words: cognitive dysfunction, sleep disorder, cognition

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