Early treatment of obstructive sleep apnea -- a condition that causes breathing to briefly pause -- may decrease the risk of Parkinson's disease, a new study published Monday finds.
For the study , published in JAMA Neurology, the team, led by Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and the Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, looked at the health records of more than 11 million veterans from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs between Jan. 1999 and Dec. 2022 with an average of five years of follow up.
Although the relative risk was small, researchers found that veterans who received an obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) diagnosis within a two-year window were almost two times more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson's up to six years later than those without sleep apnea.
However, those who started using CPAP machine within a two-year window of OSA diagnosis reduced their risk of a Parkinson's diagnosis by about 30%.
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A CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure, machine keeps the airways open so people can receive oxygen while they're sleeping to improve sleep quality and reduce the risk of health issues.
The risk remained even after the team controlled for other factors that may increase the risk of sleep apnea or Parkinson's disease including high body mass index, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety and traumatic brain injuries.
