Neurology Reviews - June 2015

WASHINGTON, DC—Patients with stroke and sleep apnea may have worse memory and executive function, compared with individuals with sleep apnea alone, those with stroke alone, and those with neither diagnosis, according to research presented at the 67th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. The combination of stroke and sleep apnea may not be associated with greater global cognitive impairment, however, compared with stroke and sleep apnea individually.

Stroke and sleep apnea have been associated with
cognitive difficulties. Jennifer Molano, MD, Assistant
Professor of Neurology at the University of Cincinnati
Neuroscience Institute, and colleagues examined the
association between sleep apnea, stroke, and cogni-
tive performance by analyzing data from the Reasons
for Geographic and Regional Differences in Stroke
(REGARDS) study.

The REGARDS study enrolled approximately 30,000 blacks and whites age 45 and older in the United States between 2003 and 2007 with the aim of investigating factors associated with increased stroke mortality in blacks and in the southeast. Baseline assessment included a telephone interview and a home visit. Participants were followed up every six months. The investigators added a brief cognitive battery in May 2008, and a module with questions about sleep was included in follow-up assessments in September 2008.