Diabetes Risk 4 Times Higher in Women with Sleep Disorders

Women with sleep disorders are 4 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, according to new research.

This study is one of the largest and among the first to investigate the impact that sleep disorders has on diabetes risk.
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To study this link, researchers followed 133,353 women without diabetes participating in the Nurses’ Health Study and Nurses’ Health Study II from 2000 to 2011.

Participants reported whether they had trouble falling or staying asleep “all of the time” or “most of the time,” frequent snoring, sleeping for 6 hours or less, or experiencing sleep apnea.

After a median 10-year follow-up, 6407 women had developed type 2 diabetes. Those who reported all 4 sleep disorders were 4 times more likely to develop diabetes than those who didn’t have sleep disorders.

In addition, after adjusting for hypertension, depression symptoms, and BMI, researchers found there was a 22% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

“Our findings highlight the importance of sleep disturbance in the development and prevention of type 2 diabetes,” researchers concluded.

--Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Li Y, Gao X, Winkelman JW, et al. Association between sleeping difficulty and type 2 diabetes in women. Diabetologia. Published online first January 28, 2016. doi:10.1007/s00125-015-3860-9.