A new study suggests that a common sleep problem that causes snoring may increase the risk of dementia in women.
A sleep disorder called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which occurs when breathing temporarily stops during sleep, increases the risk of developing dementia.
Women are more affected by this condition than men.
In the study, researchers from Michigan Medicine studied data from more than 18,500 people over the age of 50.
None of the people had dementia at the start of the 10-year study.
Scientists found that overall, women were more affected by OSA than men. Women with OSA were more likely to develop dementia by age 80 (4.7 percent), compared to 2.5 percent for men.
