article_snippet.sent: The research team investigation, published in the journal Neurology, found that people with sleep breathing problems were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment at an average age of 77.
article_snippet.sent: Those with no breathing problems, in comparison, did not typically see a decline until age 90 - more than a decade later.
article_snippet.sent: The scientists also found that treating the problem with a night time air mask - known as continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP - saw significant results.
article_snippet.sent: People treated with the machine, which pumps a steady stream of air through the mask, were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment about ten years later than people whose problems were not treated, at age 82 instead of age 72.
article_snippet.sent: Dr Osorio said: ‘The age of onset of mild cognitive impairment for people whose breathing problems were treated was almost identical to that of people who did not have any breathing problems at all.
article_snippet.sent: Given that so many older adults have sleep breathing problems, these results are exciting - we need to examine whether using CPAP could possibly help prevent or delay memory and thinking problems.
article_snippet.sent: However, we are now focusing we research on CPAP treatment and memory and thinking decline over decades, as well as looking specifically at markers of brain cell death and deterioration.