Women with obstructive sleep apnea were 3.54 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease during a 5-year follow-up period than female patients without OSA, according to a study from Taiwan that is published in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. There was no significantly increased hazard of Parkinson’s disease among male patients with sleep apnea.
The authors noted that the absolute number of patients with sleep apnea in whom Parkinson’s disease later developed was small; therefore, sleep apnea might contribute only a minor risk for subsequent Parkinson’s disease.
Read the study in JCSM: A 5-Year Follow-up Study on the Relationship between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Parkinson Disease
