A connection between snoring and diabetes? How proper sleep slows progression of gestational diabetes to type 2

Women with gestational diabetes are up to 10 times more likely to go on to develop type 2 diabetes. Poor sleep quality is an additional risk factor, particularly for women who get less than six hours of sleep per night and those who snore regularly.This is the conclusion of a team of international researchers who followed a cohort of nearly 3,000 women for more than 15 years. “Knowing that this is a population at risk, it is imperative to identify the lifestyle habits that accentuate the progression of the disease to type 2 diabetes,” the authors wrote in the paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.Women with a history of gestational diabetes tend to develop type 2 diabetes earlier in life than the general population. Between 35% and 60% of them will be diagnosed within a decade of their gestational diabetes. Good sleep is crucial in the management of type 2 diabetes, but little was known about the impact of sleep on the progression of gestational diabetes.Of the 2,891 women with a history of gestational diabetes who took part in the study, 563 developed type 2 diabetes, nearly 20% of the cohort. Those who slept six hours or less per night were significantly more likely to develop it than those who spent seven to eight hours in bed. This proved to be the optimal sleep duration for limiting disease progression. Those who slept more than nine hours a night did not necessarily reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.Dangerous combinationWomen who snore occasionally (one to two episodes per night) are twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes (HR: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.67-2.80) compared with those who rarely or never snore. Regular snoring, i.e., more than three episodes per night, increased the risk even more (HR: 2.66, 95% CI: 2.04-3.47). Snoring frequency was also associated with an unfavourable metabolic profile, including elevated C-peptide, insulin and HbA1C levels. Among all participants, women who reported a short night's sleep (less than six hours) combined with regular snoring had the highest risk of diabetes progression.Researchers cannot rule out other factors to explain the higher proportion of individuals who developed type 2 diabetes in this cohort. The women who reported more frequent snoring were also those who smoked more, had respiratory problems, a history of depression or a prescription for medication that could affect sleep. They also reported a lower-quality diet, less physical activity and a higher BMI.Nevertheless, they conclude that, “Sleep health should appear among the strategies for preventing the progression of gestational diabetes to type 2, with an emphasis on monitoring sleep duration and snoring frequency.”You can read the article in JAMA Network Open.

A connection between snoring and diabetes? How proper sleep slows progression of gestational diabetes to type 2

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