Sleep apnea doubles Parkinson’s disease risk in major veteran study

Major new research reveals Untreated sleep apnea And the risk of Parkinson’s disease increases.

A research team at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) surveyed more than 11 million veterans over the age of 40 who did not already have Parkinson’s disease.

Some of them were diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. The researchers then tracked who followed. develop Parkinson’s disease On average, it takes nearly 5 years.

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They also looked at veterans who started continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy within two years of their sleep apnea diagnosis to see if there were any differences in Parkinson’s disease outcomes compared to those who started CPAP late or not at all.

Dr. Greg Scott, an Oregon-based pathologist and co-author of the study, called the findings “remarkable” in a press release.

The study analyzed more than 11 million U.S. veterans over the age of 40, followed for an average of about five years. (St. Petersburg)

“People who had Parkinson’s disease but used CPAP had fewer fractures, fewer falls, and lower mortality rates. We tested this rigorously and the results held up,” he said.

The study, published in JAMA Neurology, was based on records of U.S. veterans treated through the Department of Veterans Affairs from 1999 to 2022. The data were adjusted for age, gender, race, smoking, etc. health factors.

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Veterans with untreated sleep apnea are nearly twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease as veterans without apnea, a study found. Over about five years, this translates into approximately 1 to 2 additional Parkinson’s patients per 1,000 people.

Early use of CPAP was associated with 2.3 fewer cases of Parkinson’s disease per 1,000 people, with approximately 1 case of Parkinson’s disease prevented for every 439 people treated over 5 years. (St. Petersburg)

Veterans who started CPAP therapy early had about a 30% lower risk.

This reduction was approximately 2.3 people fewer. For Parkinson’s disease This means that with early CPAP treatment, one case could be prevented for every 439 people treated over a five-year period.

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“The best strategy against neurodegenerative diseases is prevention and early detection of risk factors before damage spreads,” Scott said.

Researchers suggest that hypoxia, inflammation, and disruption of the brain’s cleaning processes may explain the link between sleep apnea and neurodegeneration. (St. Petersburg)

Researchers have proposed several possible reasons for this association. When oxygen levels repeatedly drop during sleep, damage neuronswhich increases inflammation and interferes with the brain’s ability to remove waste products, allowing toxic proteins to build up.

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“When you stop breathing several times an hour and your oxygen levels drop, each time your brain cells essentially faint,” Dr. Lee Nielson, an OHSU neurologist and lead author of the study, said in the same press release.

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Scientists believe that CPAP may reduce these stresses and protect brain tissue over the long term by stabilizing oxygen and improving sleep continuity.

Because this study is observational, it does not prove causation, but rather a correlation. (St. Petersburg)

However, the authors of this study emphasized that their findings only demonstrate an association between sleep disturbances and sleep disturbances. neurological disease.

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Because this is an observational analysis, it cannot conclusively prove that sleep apnea causes Parkinson’s disease.

The team also lacked detailed data on how participants consistently used their CPAP devices. Additionally, most veterans who participated in the study older manThis means that the results may not be generalizable to other populations.

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Additionally, researchers noted that early signs of Parkinson’s disease, including sleep problems, may lead some people to be diagnosed with apnea in the first place.