A common sleeping position affecting millions of Britons is linked to a significantly higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, new research suggests.
In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), scientists found that people with sleep apnea, a condition that causes breathing problems during sleep, are almost twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease as people who do not.
But researchers say early treatment for the disorder can reduce the risk of developing the condition, which affects 28,000 Britons every year.
Effective screening measures and the continued use of CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines, which are used as a mask to continuously deliver air through the mouth or nose to help prevent oxygen depletion, can have a “major impact on the brain,” the scientists said.
The findings come from a study that analyzed the medical records of more than 11 million US veterans collected between 1999 and 2022. It showed that 14% of this group had been diagnosed with sleep apnea.
Looking at their health almost six years after diagnosis, researchers found that people with sleep apnea were almost twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.
The study also found that participants who used CPAP machines, the most common treatment for the condition, were nearly 30 percent less likely to develop the condition within two years of diagnosis.
The authors of the study suggested that the link between sleep apnea and Parkinson’s could be due to a long-term lack of oxygen that damages brain cell function and contributes to Parkinson’s disease.
Previous research has also linked the lack of oxygen caused by sleep apnea to a higher risk of dementia.
Parkinson’s disease diagnoses continue to rise in the UK. Currently, about 166,000 people have the disease, which is expected to reach 173,000 by 2030. The UK-based Parkinson’s charity estimates that thousands of people are unknowingly living with the condition.
A study published in October estimated that more than 20,000 people in the UK may be living with the condition undiagnosed.
The charity warned that the “painfully slow” backlog of the NHS, made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic, has left thousands in limbo.
Caroline Russell, chief executive of Parkinson’s UK, said: “The painfully long progression of Covid, and the slow recovery of neurology services, has left thousands of people with Parkinson’s unable to be seen.
Some people wait five years to see a neurologist.
All too often we hear that they bounce between services in a state of uncertainty and fearing the worst while they wait for a diagnosis.
