Due in part to overall improvements in health, the population of elderly individuals is increasing rapidly. Similarly, obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is both gaining increased recognition and also increasing due to the worldwide obesity epidemic. The overlap of OSA and ageing is large, but there is strong plausibility for causation in both directions: OSA is associated with pathological processes that may accelerate ageing and ageing-related processes; ageing may cause physical and neurological changes that predispose to obstructive (and central) apnoea. In addition, the common symptoms (e.g. excessive daytime sleepiness, and defects in memory and cognition), possible physiological consequences of OSA (e.g. accelerated cardiovascular and cerebrovascular atherosclerosis), and changes in metabolic and inflammatory markers overlap with the symptoms and associated conditions seen in ageing. There is also the possibility of synergy in the effects of these symptoms and conditions on quality of life, as well as a need to separate treatable consequences of OSA from age-related complaints. Taken together, the aforementioned considerations make it essential to review the interaction of OSA and ageing, both proven and suspected. The present review examines some aspects of what is known and points to the need for further investigation of the relationships, given the large number of potentially affected subjects.

部分由于健康状况的全面改善，老年人口正在迅速增加。同样，阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停 (OSA) 正在获得越来越多的认可，并且由于全球肥胖流行病也在增加。OSA 和衰老的重叠很大，但在两个方向上都有很强的因果关系：OSA 与可能加速衰老和衰老相关过程的病理过程相关；衰老可能导致身体和神经系统发生变化，从而导致阻塞性（和中枢性）呼吸暂停。此外，OSA 的常见症状（如白天过度嗜睡、记忆和认知缺陷）、可能的生理后果（如加速心血管和脑血管动脉粥样硬化），代谢和炎症标志物的变化与衰老中出现的症状和相关病症重叠。这些症状和病症对生活质量的影响也有可能产生协同作用，并且需要将 OSA 的可治疗后果与年龄相关的不适区分开来。综上所述，上述考虑使得有必要审查 OSA 与衰老的相互作用，无论是已证实的还是可疑的。目前的审查检查了已知的某些方面，并指出需要进一步调查这些关系，因为可能受影响的受试者数量众多。