The Relationship between Diabetes and Sleeping Problems

Does poor sleep increase the risk of diabetes?…

The study analyzed data from Millennium Cohort Study participants prospectively over a period of 6 years. Approximately 47,093 members of the US military services enrolled from 2001 to 2003 for this self-report survey. The survey included data on demographics, height, weight, lifestyle, features of military service, sleep, clinician-diagnosed diabetes, and mental health conditions assessed by the PRIME-MD Patient Health Questionnaire and the PTSD Checklist-Civilian.

During 6 years study, 871 new, self-reported diabetes cases occurred. After adjustment for demographic and mental health problems, participants with type 2 diabetes were significantly more likely to self-report trouble sleeping, sleep duration <6 h, and sleep apnea. Furthermore, diabetic participants were also older, of nonwhite race, of higher BMI, with more mental problem such as depression, anxiety, etc. After adjusting for covariates, the researcher concluded that trouble sleeping with 1.21 fold increase risk and sleep apnea with 1.78 fold increase risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were significantly and independently related to incident diabetes.

However, this is only an observational study. Further research is required to establish the relationship between inadequate sleep and diabetes.

"Confirmation of these findings through further analyses may advance our understanding of diabetes pathophysiology and create new opportunities for prevention," the researchers concluded.

Boyko EJ, Seelig AD, Jacobson IG, et al. Sleep Characteristics, Mental Health, and Diabetes Risk: A prospective study of U.S. military service members in the Millennium Cohort Study. Diabetes Care. 2013 Jul 8. [Epub ahead of print] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23835691