Study Links OSA and Diabetes
Another recent study, this time from Canada, links obstructive sleep apnea with diabetes, and the emerging data offer a clue as to those most prone to the blood-sugar disease.
Diabetes risk may be two to three times higher among people who have daytime sleepiness along with sleep apnea, note key researchers in the study. They believe daytime sleepiness may be a key factor, Reuters Health reported.
This study "raises the intriguing possibility that sleepiness (or sleep disruption) may have an independent effect on the risk for diabetes," noted Willis H. Tsai, MD, of Rockview General Hospital in Calgary, Alberta.
His team looked at associations between diabetes and OSA among 1,346 males and 803 females when they were about 50 years old.
Of this group, a full quarter had severe OSA (defined in the study as more than 30 bouts of disturbed breathing); 21 percent were without OSA (five or fewer sleep disruptions nightly). The remaining 54 percent were classified as having mild to moderate sleep apnea (defined as 6 - 29 nightly disturbances).
About 8 percent of participants reported they had diabetes; but those with severe OSA were more likely to have diabetes than others even when factors like age, weight, gender, neck circumference, and smoking status were considered.
But most importantly in their research, Tsai and colleagues isolated one key factor to consider: an increased risk for diabetes among severe OSA participants who also reported daytime sleepiness.
Researchers stress continued studies may be needed to confirm their finding of the link between the two.
If verified in other studies, the outcome may help doctors identify those OSA patients at increased risk for developing diabetes.
This study again demonstrates the importance of polysomnographer participation in sleep research to better aid in the overall health of their patients. And certainly in the current framework of health care reform debate, much attention has been given to prevention of diseases, especially chronic conditions like diabetes.