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Sleep architecture and dementia risk in adults: an analysis of 5 cohorts from the Sleep and Dementia Consortium
Stephanie R Yiallourou, Andrée‐Ann Baril, Crystal Wiedner, Jeffrey R. Misialek, Christopher E. Kline, Stephanie Litwack Harrison, Ethan J. Cannon, Qiong Yang et al.. SLEEP, 2025-05-16
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The pooled sample comprised 4657 participants (30% women) aged ≥ 60 years (mean age was 74 years at sleep assessment). There were 998 (21.4%) dementia cases (median follow-up time of 5 to 19 years). Pooled effects of the five cohorts showed no association between sleep architecture and incident dementia. When pooled analysis was restricted to the three cohorts which had dementia case ascertainment based on DSM-IV/V criteria (n = 2374), higher N3% was marginally associated with an increased risk of dementia (hazard ratio (HR): 1.06; 95%CI: 1.00-1.12, per percent increase N3, p = .050). There were no consistent associations between sleep architecture measured and the risk of incident dementia. Implementing more nuanced sleep metrics and examination of associations with dementia subtypes remains an important next step for uncovering more about sleep-dementia associations.
Key findings
- The pooled sample comprised 4657 participants (30% women) aged ≥ 60 years (mean age was 74 years at sleep assessment).
- There were 998 (21.4%) dementia cases (median follow-up time of 5 to 19 years).
- Pooled effects of the five cohorts showed no association between sleep architecture and incident dementia.
- When pooled analysis was restricted to the three cohorts which had dementia case ascertainment based on DSM-IV/V criteria (n = 2374), higher N3% was marginally associated with an increased risk of dementia (hazard ratio (HR): 1.06; 95%CI: 1.00-1.12, per percent increase N3, p = .050).
- There were no consistent associations between sleep architecture measured and the risk of incident dementia.
Why it matters
Pooled analysis of five cohorts found no association between sleep architecture and incident dementia, with only a marginal association for higher N3% in a restricted analysis. The authors note that more nuanced sleep metrics and examination of dementia subtypes remain important next steps.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants2,374
- Effect size21.4%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 64/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (SLEEP) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | SLEEP: journal h-index 308 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 2,374 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 | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 11 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 11.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 11 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Matthew Paul Pase: h-index 49 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 20 institution(s) in 4 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40377976) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 64 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Yiallourou, S. R., Baril, A., Wiedner, C., Misialek, J. R., Kline, C. E., Harrison, S. L., et al. (2025). Sleep architecture and dementia risk in adults: an analysis of 5 cohorts from the Sleep and Dementia Consortium. SLEEP. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaf129
Vancouver
Yiallourou SR, Baril A, Wiedner C, Misialek JR, Kline CE, Harrison SL, et al. Sleep architecture and dementia risk in adults: an analysis of 5 cohorts from the Sleep and Dementia Consortium. SLEEP. 2025. doi:10.1093/sleep/zsaf129. PMID: 40377976.
BibTeX
@article{yiallourou2025-40377976,
author = {Yiallourou, Stephanie R and Baril, Andrée‐Ann and Wiedner, Crystal and Misialek, Jeffrey R. and Kline, Christopher E. and Harrison, Stephanie Litwack and Cannon, Ethan J. and Yang, Qiong and others},
title = {{Sleep architecture and dementia risk in adults: an analysis of 5 cohorts from the Sleep and Dementia Consortium}},
journal = {SLEEP},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1093/sleep/zsaf129},
pmid = {40377976},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaf129}
}
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