Abstract
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a sleep disorder involving repeated nocturnal desaturation and sleep fragmentation. OSA can result in decreased daytime alertness and neurocognitive dysfunction. Hypercapnia status is also related to neurocognitive dysfunction in patients with pulmonary diseases. We evaluated the effects of hypercapnia on cognitive performance and memory function in a prospective case-controlled study. We enrolled thirty-nine obese patients with OSA and collected their arterial blood samples. All the participants provided arterial blood samples, and completed two questionnaires (the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale) and six cognitive tasks (the psychomotor vigilance task [PVT], the Stroop task, the Eriksen flanker task, processing speed [DSST], and verbal and visual memory [LM&FM]), which were used to evaluate daytime sleepiness, cognitive function, and memory function within one week of a polysomnographic study. When compared to the OSA without diurnal hypoventilation, the patients with stable hypercapnia (OHS) had increased reaction times in the PVT, Stroop task, and flanker task. Hypercapnic obese patients with OSA also had comparatively significantly lower scores in the processing speed and logical memory tests. OHS had increased reaction times in the attention and cognitive function assessments, and deficits in the logical memory, when compared to those with OSA without diurnal hypoventilation.
Highlights
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) syndrome involves recurrent upper airway collapses, leading to hypoxemia and sleep fragmentation during sleep[1]
The following patients were excluded from the study: those who had previously been diagnosed or treated for any neurological or psychological diseases that would interfered with the neurocognitive tests, those with chronic lung or neuromuscular diseases that would have interfered with the neurocognitive task, and those who could not cooperate with the tasks
The hypercapnic obese patients with OSA required longer to perform the executive and attention tasks, there were no differences in accuracy or error rate in the cognitive tasks
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) syndrome involves recurrent upper airway collapses, leading to hypoxemia and sleep fragmentation during sleep[1]. Many studies reported that the patients with OSA have significant deficits in cognitive function, attention, and memory function[4,5,6]. In one study, Jackson et al reported significant impairments in attention, vigilance, memory and executive function in the patients with OSA7,8. These cognitive impairments can lead to difficulty in concentration, increased forgetfulness, and problems with decision-making. Memory dysfunction is another neurocognitive impairment observed in the patients with OSA syndrome[9]. We hypothesized that the hypercapnic would impaired neurocognitive function in OSA patients
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
