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Updated: Jun 12, 2026
07:40
Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults
Published on: January 26, 2019
Incident sleep disordered breathing in old age.
Donald L Bliwise1, Ian M Colrain, Gary E Swan
1Department of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Wesley Woods Center, 1841 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. dbliwis@emory.edu
Summary
Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) worsens with age, with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) increasing annually. Weight changes, both increases and decreases, were linked to worsening SDB in older adults.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Sleep Medicine
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) progression and risk factors in older adults remain poorly understood.
- Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate SDB changes over extended periods in aging populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively examine elderly volunteers over 20-30 years.
- To understand the relationship between changes in body weight and SDB in old age.
Main Methods:
- 30 community-based cohort members (mean entry age 57.8) were followed for a median of 23.4 years.
- Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) quantified by apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) using polysomnography over 733.3 person-years.
- Linear regression analyzed individual trajectories of AHI and weight over time.
Main Results:
- Participants had low baseline AHI (mean 2.3) and BMI (mean 24.6).
- Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) showed a mean annual increase of +0.43 events/hour/year (3.3% yearly increase).
- Individual analyses revealed significant AHI increases associated with both weight gain and weight loss.
Conclusions:
- The rate of AHI increase in aging exceeds that of other organ systems, suggesting complex SDB mechanisms in the elderly.
- Decreased weight associated with increased SDB in aging supports a potential role for generalized muscle weakness affecting airway patency during sleep.
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