How sleep apnea affects thinking in people with schizophrenia
Official title: Cognitive Consequences of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Schizophrenia: An Investigation of Inflammatory Mechanisms
Funded at University of California, San Diego · NIH-11232322 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether untreated sleep apnea is linked to memory and thinking problems in adults with schizophrenia by comparing them to people without psychiatric illness.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Diego NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2024 |
| Project end | November 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $759,302 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH135147-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11232322 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia—particularly middle-aged or older individuals who have sleep complaints or suspected untreated sleep apnea—who can attend sleep testing and blood draw visits are the ideal participants.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking immediate changes to their medical treatment or those already effectively treated for sleep apnea are unlikely to receive direct therapeutic benefit from this observational study.
What this research studies
If I join, researchers will compare people with schizophrenia and a non-psychiatric group using overnight sleep testing to find obstructive sleep apnea, detailed thinking and memory tests, and blood tests that measure inflammation. Visits will be observational and naturalistic, meaning participants keep their usual treatments while researchers collect sleep, cognitive, and biomarker data. The team will look for connections between sleep apnea, inflammatory blood markers, and specific thinking problems to identify which brain functions are most affected. The goal is to gather the data needed to design future trials that could treat sleep apnea to help thinking in people with schizophrenia.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify treatable sleep-related causes of cognitive problems and point to blood markers that help target future treatments for people with schizophrenia.
How similar studies have gone: Similar work in the general population has linked sleep apnea and inflammation to thinking problems, but using this combined sleep, cognitive, and biomarker approach specifically in schizophrenia is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lee, Ellen Eun-Ok — University of California, San Diego
- Study coordinator: Lee, Ellen Eun-Ok
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.