Abstract Details

Title Subjective sleep disturbances are not associated with objective cognitive functional impairment in Parkinson’s disease

Topic Sleep

Presentation(s) Sleep Posters (7:00 AM-5:00 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 019

Background Sleep disorders are common non-motor features of PD, negatively impacting quality of life and potentially hastening cognitive decline. Screening for disordered sleep is therefore essential for dementia risk assessment. To explore the relationship between subjectively poor sleep and cognition in PD, we compared self-reported sleep disturbance, using question 41 of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), to objective assessment of cognition and functional abilities.

Objective Investigate the relationship between subjectively reported sleep disturbances and objectively assessed cognitive functional abilities in Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Design/Methods Seventy-three PD participants, with normal cognition through dementia, completed neuropsychological batteries (10 tests, 2 in each of 5 domains), cognitive functional testing with the UCSD Performance-Based Skills Assessment (UPSA), UPDRS, and mood scales. Cognitive composite scores were calculated by averaging normative Z-scores of individual neuropsychological tests in each domain. Group-wise differences were evaluated using t-tests for continuous and proportion tests for categorical variables.

Results

Participant mean age was 69.7 ± 6.8, 32.9% women, with 16.6 ± 2.4 years of education, and 6.4 ± 6.1 years of PD. Motor severity was in the mild-to-moderate range, with mean UPDRS Part III score of 30.1 ± 10.7. Twenty-three PD participants (31.5%) reported sleep disturbances. Subjectively poor sleepers were significantly more anxious (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety score difference 1.7, t=2.8, p=0.006) and more likely to report subjective cognitive concerns (z=2.5, p=0.01), but there were no significant differences in any other demographic or clinical variables, including cognitive composite and UPSA scores.

Conclusions Subjectively reported sleep disturbances were not associated with objective cognitive or functional impairment in our PD cohort but were associated with increased anxiety and subjective cognitive concerns. Future studies incorporating objective assessment of sleep, including polysomnography and home-based actigraphy, are needed to more fully evaluate the relationship between sleep quality and functional abilities related to cognition in PD.

Authors/Disclosures
Samantha K. Holden, MD, MS, FAAN (University of Colorado School of Medicine) PRESENTER	Dr. Holden has nothing to disclose.
Brice V. McConnell, MD (University of Colorado Denver-Neurology)	The institution of Dr. McConnell has received research support from American Academy of Neurology.
Josiane Broussard (Colorado State University)	No disclosure on file
Brian Berman, MD, MS, FAAN (Virginia Commonwealth University)	Dr. Berman has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as an officer or member of the Board of Directors for International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. The institution of Dr. Berman has received research support from Dystonia Medical Research Foundation. The institution of Dr. Berman has received research support from Administration for Community Living. The institution of Dr. Berman has received research support from The Parkinson Foundation. The institution of Dr. Berman has received research support from National Institutes of Health.