Association of Polysomnographic Sleep Parameters With Neuroimaging Biomarkers of Cerebrovascular Disease in Older Adults With Sleep Apnea.

We found that reduced slow-wave sleep and severe OSA were associated with higher burden of white matter abnormalities in predominantly cognitively unimpaired older adults, which may contribute to greater risk of cognitive impairment, dementia, and stroke. Our study supports the association between sleep depth/fragmentation and intermittent hypoxia and CVD biomarkers. Longitudinal studies are required to assess causation.