Poor sleep may increase Alzheimer`s risk

Washington: A new study has revealed that shorter sleep duration and lower sleep quality are both associated with onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease in adults.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who examined the association between sleep variables and a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease in older adults, found that reports of shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality were associated with a greater beta-Amyloid burden, a hallmark of the disease.

"Our study found that among older adults, reports of shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality were associated with higher levels of beta-Amyloid measured by PET scans of the brain," said Adam Spira, PhD, lead author of the study and an assistant professor with the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health.

In a cross-sectional study of adults from the neuro-imagining sub-study of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging with an average age of 76, the researchers examined the association between self-reported sleep variables and beta-Amyloid deposition.

Study participants reported sleep that ranged from more than seven hours to no more than five hours. Beta-Amyloid deposition was measured by the Pittsburgh compound B tracer and PET (positron emission tomography) scans of the brain. Reports of shorter sleep duration and lower sleep quality were both associated with greater beta buildup.

The study is published in journal JAMA Neurology.