Obstructive Sleep Apnea Appears to Be Risk Factor for Development of Parkinson Disease

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 26, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) seems to be an independent risk factor for development of Parkinson disease, and early use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) could modify the risk, according to a study published online Nov. 24 in JAMA Neurology.Lee E. Neilson, M.D., from the VA Portland Health Care System in Oregon, and colleagues examined the association between OSA and incident Parkinson disease among U.S. veterans and risk modification by CPAP in an electronic health record-based cohort study.The analysis included 11,310,411 veterans, of whom 13.7 percent had OSA. The researchers found that compared with those without OSA, veterans with OSA had 1.61 additional cases of PD at six years from diagnosis per 1,000 people. When adjusting for body mass index, vascular comorbidities, psychiatric conditions, and relevant medications, the results were confirmed, and the magnitude was greater in female veterans. When treated with CPAP early in the disease course, case numbers were significantly reduced."If you stop breathing and oxygen is not at a normal level, your neurons are probably not functioning at a normal level either," Neilson said in a statement. "Add that up night after night, year after year, and it may explain why fixing the problem by using CPAP may build in some resilience against neurodegenerative conditions, including Parkinson's."Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Appears to Be Risk Factor for Development of Parkinson Disease

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