A new study out of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, in Wuhan, China shows treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may slow the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with CKD.

While there are several types of apnea, OSA occurs when throat muscles intermittently relax, blocking the person’s airway while they sleep. One of the signs of this condition is snoring. The kidneys are a critical part of the human body. Serving as filters for the blood where toxins and waste are removes and then expelled from the body through urine.

Those who suffer from chronic kidney disease have suffered damage to their kidneys and they are no longer able to process this blood. If they can, it is at greatly reduced levels and not enough for a healthy life. If the kidneys are not able to process blood, the toxins and wastes build up in the blood. Damage to organs follows and eventually death.

The study looked at 269 patients with stage 3–4 CKD. Within these patients, 148 were non-OSA cases, 79 were mild OSA cases and were 42 moderate to severe OSA cases. Researchers continuously applied nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment to 52 OSA patients for 12 months.

When compared with the CPAP group, the non-CPAP group showed a greater mean decline in eGFR among those with mild OSA and moderate/severe OSA. Among the moderate to severe OSA patients the CPAP group had a significantly higher mean eGFR than the non-CPAP group and lower levels of protein in urine after 12 months.

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