A Bel Marra Health report indicates that the cause of frequent night awakenings and urination may be obstructive sleep apnea.

The study compared men aged 55 and 75 years old with an enlarged prostate diagnosis who reported nighttime urination (nocturia) at least once a night. The control group did not have prostate enlargement or nocturia.

The study found that over half of the patients with an enlarged prostate may have a sleep disorder, which could actually be the reason for nocturia, rather than the enlarged prostate.

Researcher Dr. Howard Tandeter said, “If nocturia severity in BPE [benign prostate enlargement] patients is actually a pre-existing sleep disorder, this can now be treated and help improve patients’ quality of life. Even among those patients with well-defined medical reasons for nocturia, sleep disorders may still be found as the source of most awakenings from sleep. Therefore, the diagnosis of a sleep disorder should be seriously considered whenever a patient reports frequent awakenings from sleep to urinate, since the problem is treatable.”

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