Chung, Shiu-Dong, Lin, Ching-Chun, Liu, Shih-Ping et al. · Neurourology and urodynamics · 2014 · DOI
This study found that people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—a condition where breathing stops repeatedly during sleep—are nearly 4 times more likely to develop bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) compared to people without OSA. Researchers followed over 32,000 people in Taiwan for 3 years and tracked who developed BPS/IC. The findings suggest that sleep problems and bladder pain may be connected, and doctors should ask patients with sleep apnea about urinary symptoms.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS patients because many experience overlapping conditions including sleep dysfunction, pain syndromes, and central sensitization. Understanding the relationship between OSA and other pain/sensory conditions may help identify shared pathophysiological mechanisms that could inform treatment strategies for the complex symptom clusters seen in ME/CFS.
This study demonstrates association, not causation—OSA may not directly cause BPS/IC, but rather both conditions may share common underlying mechanisms (e.g., autonomic dysfunction, central sensitization, inflammatory pathways). The study cannot establish whether treating OSA prevents or improves BPS/IC, nor does it clarify whether the relationship is bidirectional or mediated by other factors.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Chung, Shiu-Dong, Lin, Ching-Chun, Liu, Shih-Ping, & Lin, Herng-Ching (2014). Obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis: a population-based matched-cohort study.. Neurourology and urodynamics. https://doi.org/10.1002/nau.22401
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-chung-2014-obstructive-sleep,
author = {Chung, Shiu-Dong and Lin, Ching-Chun and Liu, Shih-Ping and Lin, Herng-Ching},
title = {Obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis: a population-based matched-cohort study.},
journal = {Neurourology and urodynamics},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1002/nau.22401},
note = {PubMed: 23553652},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/chung-2014-obstructive-sleep},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/chung-2014-obstructive-sleep
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