Breathing difficulties may be Alzheimer’s warning

Breathing difficulties during sleep may be an early warning sign of future Alzheimer’s disease, researchers believe.

Experts are not sure how sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and Alzheimer’s are linked, but evidence suggests some people who suffer from the sleep problem may already be starting to develop pre-symptomatic dementia. SDB is an umbrella term for a group of conditions that affect breathing during sleep.

The most common is obstructive sleep apnoea, which affects around 4% of middle-aged men and 2% of middle-aged women.