New research suggests that starting continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy soon after a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may reduce the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
These findings will be presented at the upcoming 77th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. Obstructive sleep apnea is when the muscles in the airway relax during sleep, obstructing breathing and causing repeated pauses in airflow. This not only disrupts sleep but also carries significant long-term health risks.
OSA can lead to chronic fatigue, low oxygen levels, and over time, increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart attack. It can also elevate the risk of neurodegenerative conditions like dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
The standard treatment for OSA is CPAP therapy, which uses a mask to deliver a continuous flow of air that helps keep the airway open during sleep. CPAP therapy is well-known for improving sleep quality and reducing the risk of health complications related to obstructive sleep apnea.
In this study, researchers analyzed medical data from around 1.6 million OSA patients and 10 million healthy individuals, drawn from U.S. Veterans Affairs records. The goal was to determine whether CPAP therapy could help lower the risk of Parkinson’s disease in individuals with OSA.
The primary analysis showed that people with obstructive sleep apnea had a 1.8 higher incidence of Parkinson’s disease per 1,000 individuals within five years of diagnosis compared to healthy individuals, even after adjusting for factors like age, gender, and smoking status.
A secondary analysis focused on the effectiveness of CPAP therapy. This analysis compared 10% of OSA patients who received CPAP treatment with the remaining 90% who did not. The findings showed that within two years of diagnosis, the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease was similar for both groups.
However, among those who started CPAP therapy within two years of diagnosis, the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease was 2.3 cases lower per 1,000 people compared to those who did not receive CPAP treatment.
Based on these results, the researchers concluded that the timely initiation of CPAP therapy after an OSA diagnosis could reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
