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CPAP improves cognitive function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Continuous positive airway pressure therapy improved cognitive function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea after 3 months of treatment, according to study results.

Asiye Kanbay, MD, an associate professor in the department of pulmonary medicine at Istanbul Medeniyet University School of Medicine in Turkey, and colleagues conducted a study to assess the effects of continuous positive airway pressure therapy on serum insulin-like growth factor-1 levels and cognitive functions in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

The analysis included 33 patients recently diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and 17 healthy control participants.

Each participant completed the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) to assess cognitive function. Participants also provided blood samples at the completion of polysomnography in the morning. Three months after continuous positive airway pressure therapy started, participants repeated the procedures.

Patients with OSA had a baseline MMSE score of 23.5 and a serum IGF-1 level of 79.1 ng/mL, which registered as lower compared with the healthy controls (MMSE = 28.1; P = .0001) (serum IGF-1 = 147.1 ng/mL; P < .0001).

MMSE scores significantly improved in patients with OSA 3 months after CPAP treatment began (26.5), as did serum IGF-1 levels (129.1 ng/mL; P = .0001 for both).

However, baseline and 3-month measurements did not change significantly among the health controls.

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