Sleep disordered breathing plus daytime somnolence associated with early death in elderly

Gooneratne et al selected 289 people over 65 (nondemented, nondepressed), half of whom had excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). All got polysomnograms and were followed for a mean of 14 years. Those with EDS and sleep disordered breathing (SDB) had a hazard ratio for mortality of 2.7, that fell to 2.3 after adjusting for covariates. People with EDS or SDB in isolation had no increased mortality risk. Sleep 2011;34:435-442.