A new study has found obstructive sleep apnoea could lead to early cognitive decline in middle aged men, even for those in otherwise healthy conditions.

Australian, British and German researchers teamed up to find those with the disorder had poorer vigilance, short-term visual recognition memory and social and emotional recognition.

Elizabeth Coulson, a professor at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute and School of Biomedical Science, told Bill McDonald it’s likely caused by a lack of oxygen getting to the brain.

“Therefore, you’re not keeping your brain cells healthy enough to do as much of the cognition action as we need them to do,” she said.

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