Persistent Nightmares in Childhood Linked With Cognitive Impairment, Parkinson Disease Development

Having persistent distressing dreams in middle childhood was associated with an 85% increased risk of developing cognitive impairment or Parkinson disease by age 50 compared with never having distressing dreams, according to a prospective birth cohort study published online in EClinicalMedicine.

“Previous population-based studies have shown that having frequent distressing dreams (bad dreams and nightmares) during middle and older adulthood is associated with an increased risk of developing cognitive impairment or Parkinson disease later in life,” wrote study author Abidemi I. Otaiku, MBBS, Birmingham City Hospital Department of Neurology, United Kingdom. “However, no study has evaluated whether having distressing dreams during childhood might also be associated with increased risk of developing cognitive impairment and Parkinson disease.”

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The study included 6991 children with follow-up available at age 50 from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Study, a prospective cohort that included all infants born in Britain during a single week. When the children were ages 7 and 11, their mothers were asked whether the child had experienced “bad dreams or night terrors” in the previous 3 months. At age 50, cognitive impairment was determined by cognitive assessment and Parkinson disease by a physician diagnosis.

According to the study, 262 of the participants in the cohort developed cognitive impairment, and 5 developed Parkinson disease, by age 50. Compared with those who did not have distressing dreams at ages 7 and 11, those who had distressing dreams at both ages were 76% more likely to develop cognitive impairment. They were also almost 7 times more likely to develop Parkinson .

“The association was especially strong for Parkinson disease,” Dr Otaiku pointed out, “although this finding should be interpreted with caution given the small number of Parkinson disease cases in the analysis.”

The increased risk of both conditions with distressing dreams in childhood remained after the researcher adjusted for a range of potential confounders.

“If these findings are replicated in future studies, and the association is shown to be causal,” Dr Otaiku wrote, “it is possible that early treatment of distressing dreams could become a primary prevention strategy for dementia and Parkinson disease.”

Reference

Otaiku AI. Distressing dreams in childhood and risk of cognitive impairment or Parkinson’s disease in adulthood: a national birth cohort study. EClinicalMedicine. 2023 Feb 27;57:101872. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101872