Elucidating the association of obstructive sleep apnea with brain structure and cognitive performance

Jiahao Bao; Zhiyang Zhao; Shanmei Qin; Mengjia Cheng; Yiming Wang; Meng Li; Pingping Jia; Jinhui Li; Hongbo Yu

doi:10.1186/s12888-024-05789-x

BMC Psychiatry (May 2024)

Elucidating the association of obstructive sleep apnea with brain structure and cognitive performance

Jiahao Bao,
Zhiyang Zhao,
Shanmei Qin,
Mengjia Cheng,
Yiming Wang,
Meng Li,
Pingping Jia,
Jinhui Li,
Hongbo Yu

Affiliations

Jiahao Bao: Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology and Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology
Zhiyang Zhao: Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology and Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology
Shanmei Qin: Department of Neurology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University
Mengjia Cheng: Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology and Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology
Yiming Wang: Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology and Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology
Meng Li: Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology and Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology
Pingping Jia: JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Jinhui Li: Department of Urology, Stanford University Medical Center
Hongbo Yu: Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology and Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-05789-x
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 24, no. 1
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

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Abstract Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a pervasive, chronic sleep-related respiratory condition that causes brain structural alterations and cognitive impairments. However, the causal association of OSA with brain morphology and cognitive performance has not been determined. Methods We conducted a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal relationship between OSA and a range of neurocognitive characteristics, including brain cortical structure, brain subcortical structure, brain structural change across the lifespan, and cognitive performance. Summary-level GWAS data for OSA from the FinnGen consortium was used to identify genetically predicted OSA. Data regarding neurocognitive characteristics were obtained from published meta-analysis studies. Linkage disequilibrium score regression analysis was employed to reveal genetic correlations between OSA and related traits. Results Our MR study provided evidence that OSA was found to significantly increase the volume of the hippocampus (IVW β (95% CI) = 158.997 (76.768 to 241.227), P = 1.51e-04), with no heterogeneity and pleiotropy detected. Nominally causal effects of OSA on brain structures, such as the thickness of the temporal pole with or without global weighted, amygdala structure change, and cerebellum white matter change covering lifespan, were observed. Bidirectional causal links were also detected between brain cortical structure, brain subcortical, cognitive performance, and OSA risk. LDSC regression analysis showed no significant correlation between OSA and hippocampus volume. Conclusions Overall, we observed a positive association between genetically predicted OSA and hippocampus volume. These findings may provide new insights into the bidirectional links between OSA and neurocognitive features, including brain morphology and cognitive performance.

Published in BMC Psychiatry

ISSN: 1471-244X (Online)
Publisher: BMC
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry: Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system: Psychiatry
Website: http://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com

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