Sleep tight, don’t let Alzheimer's bite

Getting the recommended eight hours of sleep might be more important than you think according to researchers who are trying to prove how sleep and depression lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s affecting one in 10 people over the age of 65. What researchers are trying to discover is the relationship between our sleeping patterns, depression and our genes have on the chances of developing Alzheimer’s.

The study was conducted using data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center, compiled from 11,453 cognitively asymptomatic patients. Analyzing the factors of sleep disturbance, depression rates and the apolipoprotein E (APOE) on both the relationship of the factors with one another and on rates of Alzheimer’s in patients.

Results further showed the relationship between the three factors and the prevalence of developing Alzheimer’s. Participants with the APOE gene were eight times higher when they suffered depression and 10 times higher when they had clinician-verified depression. Of those with the APOE gene who suffered with sleep disturbance the rate was seven times greater than the reference group.

"Previous research has attempted to explore the relationship between depression, sleep disturbance and Alzheimer's disease. Our research is significant in that it is the first to find an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease due to insomnia and depression independently, as well as in combination with genetic risk factors," said Shanna L. Burke, assistant professor of social work at the FIU Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work and led author on the study. “This study contributes to the literature base exploring an increased hazard or risk of Alzheimer’s disease due to potential modifiable risk factors as well as genetic biomarkers, such as APOE.”