Obstructive sleep apnoea can lead to chronic pain, study reveals

The study, published in July 2024 in Science Signaling, explained the mechanism behind persistent pain related to obstructive sleep apnoea.

More than 100m people worldwide are affected by obstructive sleep apnoea, with four million sufferers in the UK, according to the Sleep Apnoea Trust.

The condition causes a person to stop breathing numerous times while sleeping.

Reduced sleep time and sleep quality can lead to numerous health problems, including chronic pain, which is diagnosed more in people with obstructive sleep apnoea than those with normal sleep patterns.

Nathaniel Jeske, primary investigator and director of research for the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the School of Dentistry at UT Health San Antonio, said, “We are looking at maladaptive neuroplasticity in these primary nociceptors that are representing persistent pain, which serves as a bridge between the acute and the chronic.”