{"id":12691,"date":"2026-01-16T19:33:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=12691"},"modified":"2026-01-16T19:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:33:20","slug":"is-obstructive-sleep-apnea-linked-to-parkinsons-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/is-obstructive-sleep-apnea-linked-to-parkinsons-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Obstructive Sleep Apnea Linked to Parkinson’s Disease?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A new study\u00a0conducted by Oregon Health and Science\u00a0University\u00a0and the Portland Veterans Administration (VA) Health\u00a0Care System\u00a0has found that people who have untreated\u00a0obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can\u00a0have an\u00a0increased\u00a0risk of\u00a0eventually developing Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Obstructive sleep\u00a0apnea is\u00a0a common sleep disorder\u00a0that occurs when people repeatedly stop and start breathing while they sleep due to the throat muscles relaxing and blocking their airway.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive\u00a0neurodegenerative\u00a0disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The study analyzed the health records of 13,737,081 U.S. veterans collected by the Department of Veterans Affairs from 1999 to 2022. The average age of the participants in the study was 60.5 years, with 9.8% being women.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1,552,505 participants of the study had\u00a0obstructive sleep apnea. Six years after their original OSA diagnosis, there were 1.6 cases of Parkinson\u2019s disease for every 1,000 individuals with\u00a0obstructive sleep apnea, compared to those without it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s\u00a0more, the study shows that\u00a0because OSA causes repeated airflow blockages during sleep, it leads to low oxygen levels and briefly interrupted blood flow to the brain and blood vessels. It can also lead to\u00a0ischemia-reperfusion,\u00a0which occurs when\u00a0blood flow is restored\u00a0after a period of reduced blood supply, leading to\u00a0cells\u00a0becoming damaged instead of healing.\u00a0When this occurs,\u00a0it\u00a0causes fragmented sleep and triggers the autonomic centers in the brain,\u00a0making\u00a0neurons and\u00a0blood vessels vulnerable.\u00a0Similarly,\u00a0Parkinson\u2019s disease causes neurons to slowly break down and die,\u00a0affecting neurological function.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

People who are suffering from OSA can improve their sleep quality with early treatment using common treatments for sleep apnea, such as a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask or the new Inspire device. Unlike the CPAP mask, the Inspire device works inside the body with a patient\u2019s natural breathing process, using mild stimulation to open the airway during sleep, allowing oxygen to flow naturally. The patient uses a small handheld remote to turn Inspire on before bed and off when they wake up.\u00a0\u00a0could help lower their risk of developing Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you would like to get tested for sleep apnea, you can make an appointment at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center\u2019s Sleep Center by calling\u00a0<\/span>718-206-5916<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To learn more about CPAP or Inspire\u00a0at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, please visit\u00a0Jamaicahospital.org\u00a0or call\u00a0718-206-7110\u00a0to make an appointment with an ENT doctor.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you would like to learn more about Parkinson\u2019s disease, you can schedule an appointment with a neurologist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center\u2019s\u202f<\/span>Ambulatory Care Center<\/span><\/a>. Please\u00a0call (718) 206-7001.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new study\u00a0conducted by Oregon Health and Science\u00a0University\u00a0and the Portland Veterans Administration (VA) Health\u00a0Care System\u00a0has found that people who have untreated\u00a0obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can\u00a0have an\u00a0increased\u00a0risk of\u00a0eventually developing Parkinson\u2019s disease.\u00a0 Obstructive sleep\u00a0apnea is\u00a0a common sleep disorder\u00a0that occurs when people repeatedly … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1,61,14,63,399,106,13,4],"tags":[2285,2235,2286,1413,416,107,473],"class_list":["post-12691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-health","category-health","category-lifestyle","category-mens-health","category-mental-health","category-neurological-disorder","category-sleep","category-sleep-center","category-womens-health","tag-is-obstructive-sleep-apnea-linked-to-parkinsons-disease","tag-mens-health","tag-obstructive-sleep-apnea","tag-parkinsons-disease","tag-sleep","tag-sleep-apnea","tag-womens-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12691"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12695,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12691\/revisions\/12695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}