A common sleep disorder that leaves millions of Americans exhausted may also be quietly increasing their chances of developing Parkinson’s disease — unless they treat it.

That’s according to a new study led by Oregon Health & Science University and the Portland Veterans Affairs Health Care System, where researchers found that veterans with untreated obstructive sleep apnea were far more likely to later develop Parkinson’s than those without it.

But early use of a continuous positive airway pressure machine, or CPAP, to improve breathing during sleep was linked to noticeably lower rates of the disease, the researchers found.

The study, published Monday in JAMA Neurology , analyzed the electronic health records of more than 11 million U.S. military veterans who received care through

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