Age-related changes in sleep spindle characteristics in individuals over 75 years of age: a retrospective and comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Sleep and its architecture are affected and changing through the whole lifespan. We know main modifications of the macro-architecture with a shorter sleep, occurring earlier and being more fragmented. We have been studying sleep micro-architecture through its pathological modification in sleep, psychiatric or neurocognitive disorders whereas we are still unable to say if the sleep micro-architecture of an old and very old person is rather normal, under physiological changes, or a concern for a future disorder to appear. We wanted to evaluate age-related changes in sleep spindle characteristics in individuals over 75 years of age compared with younger individuals. METHODS: This was an exploratory study based on retrospective and comparative laboratory-based polysomnography data registered in the normal care routine for people over 75 years of age compared to people aged 65-74 years. We were studying their sleep spindle characteristics (localization, density, frequency, amplitude, and duration) in the N2 and N3 sleep stages. ANOVA and ANCOVA using age, sex and OSA were applied. RESULTS: We included 36 participants aged > 75 years and 57 participants aged between 65 and 74 years. An OSA diagnosis was most common in both groups. Older adults receive more medication to modify their sleep. Spindle localization becomes more central after 75 years of age. Changes in the other sleep spindle characteristics between the N2 and N3 sleep stages and between the slow and fast spindles were conformed to literature data, but age was a relevant modifier only for density and duration. CONCLUSION: We observed the same sleep spindle characteristics in both age groups except for localization. We built our study on a short sample, and participants were not free of all sleep disorders. We could establish normative values through further studies with larger samples of people without any sleep disorders to understand the modifications in normal aging and pathological conditions and to reveal the predictive biomarker function of sleep spindles.

Fractures reduction with osteoporotic treatments in patients over 75-year-old: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Osteoporosis consists in the reduction of bone mineral density and increased risk of fracture. Age is a risk factor for osteoporosis. Although many treatments are available for osteoporosis, there is limited data regarding their efficacy in older people. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of osteoporosis treatments in patients over 75 years old. Methods: We reviewed all published studies in MEDLINE, Cochrane and EMBASE including patients over 75 years old, treated by osteoporosis drugs, and focused on vertebral fractures or hip fractures. Results: We identified 4,393 records for review; 4,216 were excluded after title/abstract review. After full text review, 19 records were included in the systematic review. Most studies showed a reduction in vertebral fracture with osteoporosis treatments, but non-significant results were observed for hip fractures. Meta-analysis of 10 studies showed that lack of treatment was significantly associated with an increased risk of vertebral fractures at one (OR = 3.67; 95%CI = 2.50-5.38) and 3 years (OR = 2.19; 95%CI = 1.44-3.34), and for hip fractures at one (OR = 2.14; 95%CI = 1.09-4.22) and 3 years (OR = 1.31, 95%CI = 1.12-1.53). Conclusion: A reduction in the risk of vertebral fractures with osteoporosis treatments was observed in most of the studies included and meta-analysis showed that lack of treatment was significantly associated with an increased risk of vertebral fractures. Concerning hip fractures, majority of included studies did not show a significant reduction in the occurrence of hip fractures with osteoporotic treatments, but meta-analysis showed an increased risk of hip fractures without osteoporotic treatment. However, most of the data derived from post hoc and preplanned analyses or observational studies.

Prevalence and Characteristics of Sleep Apnea in Intensive Care Unit Survivors After SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia.

Background: Sleep apnea (SA) was reported as possibly exacerbating symptoms of COVID-19, a disease induced by SARS-CoV-2 virus. The same comorbidities are common with both pathologies. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence, characteristics of SA and variation in AHI three months after severe COVID-19 requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Methods: A prospective cohort of patients admitted to ICU for severe COVID-19 underwent an overnight home polygraphy 3 months after onset of symptoms, as part of a comprehensive follow-up program (pulmonary function tests, 6-minute walk tests and chest CT-scan). Patients with an apnea hypopnea index (AHI) ≥5 were considered as having SA. We performed a comparative descriptive analysis of 2 subgroups according to the existence, severity of SA and indication for effective SA treatment: patients with absent or mild SA (AHI <15) vs patients with moderate to severe SA (AHI ≥15). Results: Among 68 patients included, 62 (91%) had known comorbidities (34 hypertension, 21 obesity, 20 dyslipidemia, 16 type 2 diabetes). It has been observed a preexisting SA for 13 patients (19.1%). At 3 months, 62 patients (91%) had SA with 85.5% of obstructive events. Twenty-four patients had no or a mild SA (AHI <15) and 44 had moderate to severe SA (AHI ≥15). Ischemic heart disease exclusively affected the moderate to severe SA group. Except for thoracic CT-scan which revealed less honeycomb lesions, COVID-19 symptoms were more severe in the group with moderate to severe SA, requiring a longer curarization, more prone position sessions and more frequent tracheotomy. Conclusion: SA involved 91% of patients in our population at 3 months of severe COVID-19 and was mainly obstructive type. Although SA might be a risk factor as well as consequences of ICU care in severe COVID-19 infection, our results underline the importance of sleep explorations after an ICU stay for this disease.