ABSTRACT
Aging is associated with an increased prevalence of central sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). The pathophysiology underpinning the increased propensity for SDB in older adults is discussed with an emphasis on ventilatory control system mechanisms. There is increased ventilatory chemoresponsiveness in older compared with young adults. Mitigation of chemoresponsiveness may form the crux of treating periodic breathing in older adults. The absence of longitudinal studies of the effect of aging on the ventilatory control of breathing is a major research gap. Delineation of the underlying mechanistic pathways will allow the development of novel SDB therapies in older adults.
