Mild cognitive impairment: could it be a sleep disorder?

The mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is described as an intermediate state of cognitive impairment whereby individuals present with mild clinical symptoms but with nearly normal daily living activities. These subjects do not meet the clinical criteria for dementia, yet their cognitive functioning is below what we would expect for age and education in healthy people. In the other hand, older adults are at risk for sleep disorders including obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, restless legs syndrome, REM sleep behavioral disorder and chronic insomnia, which could have an impact on cognitive functioning and are exclusion criteria for the MCI diagnosis. Moreover, REM sleep behavioral disorder represents a risk factor for the development of neurodegenerative diseases. In subjects more 65 years of age the association between chronic insomnia and cognitive changes is still debated. The main aim of this paper is to focus on identification of sleep disorders in the context of cognitive disturbances among professionals working with the elderly.