Inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis likely also plays a role in this process.
RA increases certain proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF), and these intercellular signalling proteins are involved in the process of normal sleep regulation, said Dr Regina Taylor-Fievre, a researchers on inflammatory arthritis and sleep disorders at the University of Saskatchewan.
She added: “Higher TNF levels have also been reported in sleep apnoea.”
She further explained, as per a review article published in the International Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, that someone who has RA, it could be that this increase in TNF levels may increase susceptibility to OSA.