The circadian rest-activity pattern predicts cognitive decline among mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease patients

BACKGROUND: Alterations in circadian rhythms are present in the presymptomatic stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), possibly contributing to its pathogenesis. However, it is unknown whether such alterations are associated with worse outcomes once individuals are diagnosed with symptomatic disease. We aimed to evaluate the association between the circadian rest-activity pattern and AD-related features in patients with mild-moderate AD. METHODS: We assessed the circadian rest-activity pattern of consecutive patients with mild-moderate AD through actigraphy for 14 days. Cerebrospinal fluid was obtained to determine the levels of important pathological markers including amyloid-beta protein (Aβ42), phosphorylated tau (P-tau), total tau (T-tau), and neurofilament light (NF-L). Neuropsychological evaluation was conducted at the beginning of the study and after 12 months of follow-up. Linear regression models were performed considering the global population and Aβ42+ patients only. RESULTS: The cohort included 100 patients with mild-moderate AD. The median age [p(25);p(75)] was 76.0 [73.0;80.0] years and 63.0% were female. Older age (effect size [SE] of 0.324 [0.096]; p = 0.001) and male sex (0.780 [0.193]; p = 0.001) were associated with increased fragmentation and decreased synchronization of the rhythm, respectively. After adjusting for age, sex, and season of the year, increased levels of T-tau (effect size [95% CI] of 0.343 [0.139 to 0.547]; p = 0.001) and NF-L (0.444 [0.212 to 0.676]; p = 0.001) were associated with a higher amplitude of the rest-activity rhythm. Increased fragmentation of the rhythm at baseline was associated with greater cognitive decline after one year of follow-up independent of age, sex, T-tau/Aβ42 ratio, educational level, and season of the year (− 0.715 [− 1.272 to − 0.157]; p = 0.013). Similar findings were obtained considering only the Aβ42+ patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest a potential role of the circadian rest-activity pattern in predicting the cognitive decline of patients with mild-moderate AD. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings and to elucidate whether there is causality among the observed associations. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13195-021-00903-7.