Sleep Disorders and Increased Risk of Autoimmune Diseases in Individuals without Sleep Apnea.

A study in the April issue of SLEEP found that people with sleep disorders other than sleep apnea had a significantly higher risk for incident autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, supporting a bidirectional relationship between sleep disorders and autoimmune diseases. According to the authors, previous studies evaluating the influence of sleep disorders on the susceptibility of autoimmune diseases have been limited to sleep apnea.

Patients with non-apnea sleep disorder were associated with a higher risk for developing autoimmune diseases.

Full article can be found at http://journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=29956