Abstract
Introduction
We determined if actigraphy‐derived sleep patterns led to 7‐year cognitive decline in middle‐aged to older Hispanic/Latino adults.
Methods
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.
Results
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.
Conclusion
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.
