Reduced left hippocampal perfusion is associated with insomnia in patients with cerebral small vessel disease.

Objectives: Insomnia was associated with cerebral structural changes and Alzheimer's disease. However, associations among cerebral perfusion, insomnia with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), and cognitive performance were little investigated.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 89 patients with CSVDs and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs). They were dichotomized into the normal sleep and poor sleep group, according to Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). Baseline characteristics, cognitive performance, and cerebral blood flow (CBF) were measured and compared between the two groups. The association or correlation between cerebral perfusion, cognition, and insomnia was analyzed using binary logistic regression.

Results: Our study found that declined MoCA score (P = .0317) was more prevalent in those with poor sleep. There was a statistical difference in the recall (P = .0342) of MMSE, the delayed recall (P = .0289) of MoCA between the two groups. Logistic regression analysis showed educational background (P < .001) and insomnia severity index (ISI) score (P = .039) were independently correlated with MoCA scores. Arterial spin labeling demonstrated that left hippocampal gray matter perfusion was significantly reduced (P = .0384) in the group with poor sleep. And, negative correlation was found between left hippocampal perfusion and PSQI scores.

Conclusions: In the patients with CSVDs, insomnia severity was associated with cognitive decline. Left hippocampal gray matter perfusion was correlated with PSQI scores in CSVDs.