Do diurnal cortisol levels mediate the association between sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment?

Previous research found an association between sleep disturbances and cognitive deficits on the one hand, and between increased cortisol levels and poor cognitive performance on the other hand. We hypothesized that cortisol may, at least partially, mediate the link between sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment. We analyzed data from 440 non-demented subjects aged ≥65 years (72.4±4.5 y.o, 55.7% women) participating at the population-based Colaus/PsyColaus study, who underwent cognitive evaluation, complete polysomnography and cortisol measures during the day.

Source: Neurobiology of Aging - May 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Jos é Haba-Rubio, Sami Ouanes, Yannick Franc, Pedro Marques Vidal, Gerard Waeber, Peter Vollenweider, Armin von Gunten, Martin Preisig, Christine Kuehner, Enrique Castelao, Raphaël Heinzer, Julius Popp Tags: Negative results Source Type: research