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Adherence to continuous positive airway pressure treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease and obstructive sleep apnea
Ayalon L, Ancoli-Israel S, Stepnowsky C, Marler M, Palmer BW, Liu L, Loredo JS, Corey-Bloom J et al.. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2006-02-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective This analysis examined whether patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) tolerate continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Method Thirty patients with AD were randomized to CPAP or sham CPAP and completed sleep, depression, and quality-of-life questionnaires. Participants could choose to continue treatment after the trial. Results Patients wore CPAP for 4.8 hours per night. More depressive symptoms were associated with worse adherence (rS=-0.37; N=30, p Conclusion Patients with AD with obstructive sleep apnea can tolerate CPAP. Adherence and long-term use may be more difficult among those patients with more depressive symptoms.
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APA 7th
Ayalon, L., Ancoli-Israel, S., Stepnowsky, C., Marler, M., Palmer, B. W., Liu, L., et al. (2006). Adherence to continuous positive airway pressure treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease and obstructive sleep apnea. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.jgp.0000192484.12684.cd
Vancouver
Ayalon L, Ancoli-Israel S, Stepnowsky C, Marler M, Palmer BW, Liu L, et al. Adherence to continuous positive airway pressure treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease and obstructive sleep apnea. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2006. doi:10.1097/01.jgp.0000192484.12684.cd. PMID: 16473983.
BibTeX
@article{ayalon2006-16473983,
author = {Ayalon, L. and Ancoli-Israel, S. and Stepnowsky, C. and Marler, M. and Palmer, B. W. and Liu, L. and Loredo, J. S. and Corey-Bloom, J. and others},
title = {{Adherence to continuous positive airway pressure treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease and obstructive sleep apnea}},
journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1097/01.jgp.0000192484.12684.cd},
pmid = {16473983},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/01.jgp.0000192484.12684.cd}
}
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Key findings
- Results Patients wore CPAP for 4.8 hours per night.
- More depressive symptoms were associated with worse adherence (rS=-0.37; N=30, p Conclusion Patients with AD with obstructive sleep apnea can tolerate CPAP.
Why it matters
In 30 patients with Alzheimer's disease and obstructive sleep apnea, CPAP was tolerated, with patients wearing it about 4.8 hours per night, and more depressive symptoms were linked to worse adherence. This is a small study about treating sleep apnea, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Participants30
- Effect sizeor 4.8
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 178 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 30 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 109 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.0 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 7 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Jana R. Cooke: h-index 9 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California San Diego: institution h-index 1,852 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16473983) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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May need a subscription Unpaywall, Europe PMC and OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 10 Oct 2026), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
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