Dr. Roach Explains Why Central Sleep Apnea Rarely Causes Nighttime Urination
A reader asked whether central sleep apnea (CSA) causes frequent nighttime urination like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) does. Dr. Mehmet C. Roach clarified that CSA, which originates in the brain rather than the airway, is not a common cause of nocturia. Instead, he noted that heart failure, a frequent underlying condition for CSA, can lead to increased nighttime urination due to fluid redistribution. For a 74-year-old man using BiPAP and prostate medications, waking twice a night is more likely attributed to age and treated prostate issues than to CSA itself.