Introduction

Sleep spindles play a key role in sleep-mediated cognitive processes. Cognitive functions are well-known to be affected in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Here, we analyzed attention and executive functions in patients with OSA and investigated the relationship between sleep spindles and cognitive abilities.

Methods

Sixty patients with OSA (18–65 years, 19 females and 41 males) and a control group (n = 41) including age-and sex-matched healthy individuals were consecutively and prospectively enrolled. All participants had a full-night polysomnography, and sleep spindles were analyzed using a semi-automated program. For the evaluation of short-term memory, attention and executive functions, Stroop test, forward and backward digit span tests were applied to all participants upon awakening following polysomnography.

Results

Scores of forward and backward digit span and Stroop tests were worse in OSA patients in compared to those in controls. Mean density of sleep spindles was decreased in OSA patients than those in controls (p = 0.044). A positive correlation was found between fast sleep spindle frequency and forward digit span (r = 2.222; p = 0.038) and backward digit span test scores (r = 2,157; p = 0.042) in OSA patients. In patients with moderate to severe OSA, sleep spindle density was positively correlated with forward (r = 2.323, p = 0.029) and backward (r = 2.500, p = 0.016) DSTs, and the duration of sleep spindles had positive correlation with backward DST (r = 2.452, p = 0.010).

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrated that the disturbances in sleep spindle characteristics in OSA are associated with the cognitive impairments in attention, short-term memory, and executive functions, especially in patients with moderate to severe OSA.

中文翻译：

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阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停患者的注意力和执行功能受损与睡眠纺锤波下降有关

介绍

睡眠纺锤波在睡眠介导的认知过程中发挥着关键作用。众所周知，认知功能会受到阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停 (OSA) 的影响。在这里，我们分析了 OSA 患者的注意力和执行功能，并研究了睡眠纺锤波与认知能力之间的关系。

方法

连续前瞻性地招募了60 名 OSA 患者（18-65 岁，19 名女性和 41 名男性）和对照组（n  = 41），其中包括年龄和性别匹配的健康个体。所有参与者都进行了整夜多导睡眠图检查，并使用半自动程序分析了睡眠纺锤波。为了评估短期记忆、注意力和执行功能，对所有参与者在多导睡眠图醒来后进行斯特鲁普测试、向前和向后数字跨度测试。

结果

与对照组相比，OSA 患者的向前和向后数字跨度和 Stroop 测试得分较差。 OSA 患者的睡眠纺锤波平均密度低于对照组 ( p  = 0.044)。 OSA 患者的快速睡眠纺锤波频率与前向数字跨度（ r  = 2.222；p  = 0.038）和后向数字跨度测试分数（r  = 2,157；p = 0.042）呈正相关。在中重度 OSA 患者中，睡眠纺锤波密度与前向 ( r  = 2.323，p  = 0.029) 和后向 ( r  = 2.500，p  = 0.016) DST 呈正相关，睡眠纺锤波持续时间与后向 DST 呈正相关。 （r  = 2.452，p  = 0.010）。

结论

我们的研究结果表明，OSA 患者睡眠纺锤波特征的紊乱与注意力、短期记忆和执行功能的认知障碍有关，尤其是中度至重度 OSA 患者。