A link has been found between nightmares and the development of dementia in midlife

Cognitive decline occurs during monster dreams

According to a study presented at the 10th Congress of the European Academy of Neuroscience EAN 2024 in Helsinki, anxiety and nightmares in middle-aged and elderly people age may indicate a higher risk of future cognitive decline and dementia.

Photo: unsplash.com

Neuroscientist Abidemi Otayku and colleagues examined whether anxiety and nightmares are associated with cognitive decline and dementia in people without Parkinson's disease. The analysis included 605 middle-aged adults from the Middle Ages in the United States study, who were followed for more than 13 years, and 2,600 older adults from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men study. and studies of osteoporotic fractures that were followed for more than seven years.

The researchers found that, compared with middle-aged adults who reported no disturbing dreams at the start of the study, those who reported weekly anxious dreams had more the risk of cognitive decline was four times higher. The risk of developing dementia more than doubles in older people.

“Night terrors have a very close connection with many brain diseases and other pathologies, and I firmly believe that doctors should be asked more often about nightmares,” — states Otayku.

This study continues the previous one by analyzing a subgroup of respondents for whom genetic data based on blood tests, saliva samples and family history were available to determine whether they had any effect on previous results .

“We found that the association between disturbing dreams and cognitive decline and dementia remained robust after controlling for genetic factors,” Otayku tells Medscape Medical News. — We also found that there was no significant association between the frequency of disturbing dreams and genetic factors in any age group.»

Given that there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, «it is important to identify people early, before they develop symptoms, so they can take advantage of disease-modifying drugs when they are available and preventive strategies.»

Future research is needed to determine whether treating disturbing dreams can help slow cognitive decline or prevent dementia, he said. 

In response to an audience question about REM sleep behavior disorder, Otayku points out that researchers have no data on it, but added that he believes it is unlikely to explain the link between bad dreams and dementia. He noted that REM sleep behavior disorder is very rare, affecting less than 0.05 percent of the population aged 50 and older. Additionally, the neuroscientist highlighted that there was one study conducted on REM sleep behavior disorder and dementia, which found that the disorder did not predict cognitive decline. According to Otayku, one of his studies included data on diagnosed sleep disorders that showed that even when all participants with a diagnosed sleep disorder were excluded, the association between nightmares and dementia risk remained robust.

“Thus, it seems unlikely that REM sleep behavior disorder explained this association,” — the scientist believes. Otayku noted that his team also adjusted for neuropsychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression and stress, but the link between nightmares and dementia risk remained clear. Likewise, they adjusted for the use of medications, including antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and sleeping pills, and found that this also did not explain the increased risk of dementia.

«Dementia with Lewy bodies would presumably be among the most strong associations, but given that it accounts for less than 5 percent of diagnoses in the community, it is likely that the effects could apply to Alzheimer's disease, and previous studies have shown that nightmares are more common in Alzheimer's disease during certain periods of time.» ; he concluded.

Neurologist Sebastian Engelborg commented on the results of the study. Treating sleep-related symptoms does not reduce the risk of developing dementia, he said. Sleep disturbance is often the first, early manifestation of neurodegeneration, which may be a cause of dementia.