Actigraphic sleep patterns and cognitive decline in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

We determined if actigraphy-derived sleep patterns led to 7-year cognitive decline in middle-aged to older Hispanic/Latino adults.

We examined 1035 adults, 45 to 64 years of age, from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Participants had repeated measures of cognitive function 7 years apart, home sleep apnea studies, and 1 week of actigraphy. Survey linear regression evaluated prospective associations between sleep and cognitive change, adjusting for main covariates.

Longer sleep-onset latency was associated with declines in global cognitive function, verbal learning, and verbal memory. Longer sleep-onset latency was also cross-sectionally associated with verbal learning, verbal memory, and word fluency. Sleep fragmentation was not associated with cognitive change.

In a cohort of mostly middle-aged Hispanic/Latinos, actigraphy-derived sleep-onset latency predicted 7-year cognitive change. These findings may serve as targets for sleep interventions of cognitive decline.