Electroencephalographic Activity and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Before and After Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment

Abstract

Jianhua Wang,1,2,* Juan Xu,1– 3,* Shuling Liu,1,2 Fei Han,1,4 Qiaojun Wang,1,4 Hao Gui,1,4 Rui Chen1,2 1Sleep Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215004, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Yancheng Clinical College of Xuzhou Medical University, The First People’s Hospital of Yancheng City, Yancheng, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Rui Chen Email [email protected]: To investigate the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) activity in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and to examine the correlation between quantitative EEG changes and cognitive function.Patients and Methods: A total of 69 men and 11 women were collected with an average age of 39.61 ± 7.67 years old from among middle-aged patients who had first visits with snoring as their main complaint. All of them completed sleep questionnaires, neurocognitive tests and night polysomnography (PSG). The patients in the OSA group also completed the second night of PSG monitoring under CPAP after pressure titration. A power spectrum analysis of EEG was used, and the correlation between the frequency powers of EEG and the scores of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were further analyzed.Results: Compared with the control group, the delta/alpha power ratio (DAR) and the (delta + theta)/(alpha + beta) power ratio (the slowing ratio, TSR) of the OSA group before CPAP were higher (P 0.05).Conclusion: Patients with OSA have greater slow frequency EEG activity during sleep than the control group. CPAP treatment reversed the slow frequency EEG activity in patients with OSA.Keywords: obstructive sleep apnea, quantitative electroencephalogram, cognitive function, continuous positive airway pressure

Keywords

• obstructive sleep apnea
• quantitative electroencephalogram
• cognitive function
• continuous positive airway pressure