New research published in Respirology suggests that sleep apnea may increase the risk of developing chronic kidney disease to a similar extent as hypertension.

Researchers analyzed information from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database from 2000 and 2010 concerning 43,434 individuals, including 8687 with sleep apnea.

Over an average follow-up of 3.9 years, the risk of developing chronic kidney disease was 58% higher among adults with sleep apnea than in other adults, after adjusting for individuals' demographic and clinical characteristics.

Article: Association of sleep apnoea with chronic kidney disease in a large cohort from Taiwan, Chu, H., Shih, C.-J., Ou, S.-M., Chou, K.-T., Lo, Y.-H. and Chen, Y.-T., Respirology, doi: 10.1111/resp.12739, published online 22 January 2016.