The link isn't "disturbed sleep" necessarily. As we age, sleep naturally degrades, and that degradation is in the slow-wave sleep which drives the clearing of amyloid plaques, and tau (along with hormonal response, memory consolidation, nervous system, and more).
The technology we're developing at https://soundmind.co is supporting an Alzheimer's prevention trial beginning in January '23 which is looking at the impact of slow-wave enhancement in the clearing of Amyloid plaques.
Not necessarily. Though Alzheimer's is an age related disease, and each 5 years increases the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's [1].
The older you get, the more likely you are to get Alzheimer's. Young people don't get Alzheimer's (with the exception of early onset, which is still in an older population).
So if we extend life long enough, will everyone get it?
Unlikely. Just like not everyone with high cholesterol develop heart disease. However the older we get, the worse sleep gets, the more build up of amyloids, the more likely a person is to develop Alzheimer's.
Part of the reason the amyloid theory is in question is because there are people with significant build up of amyloid who do not develop Alzheimer's and there are people with little amyloid build up who do generate Alzheimer's.
I'm not saying "disturbed sleep", which I believe you are defining as apnea or other respiratory issue, should not be looked at. But even if it is, that does not answer the age related decline in SWS.
Even if there is no other health issue, SWS declines with age. The decline of SWS is linked to increased amyloids, which is linked to Alzheimer's.
Yes, apnea also has an impact on SWS, with the same relationship to amyloids and Alzheimer's, but solving the apnea does not solve the age related decline.
The technology we're developing at https://soundmind.co is supporting an Alzheimer's prevention trial beginning in January '23 which is looking at the impact of slow-wave enhancement in the clearing of Amyloid plaques.