Does Sleep Apnea Influence Glycemic Control in Patients with Diabetes?

Undiagnosed and untreated sleep apnea is associated with poorer glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a recent study.

The study included 100 adult patients with type 2 diabetes who had not been diagnosed with sleep apnea before the beginning of the study. Medical history, body weight, height, Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores, sleep apnea symptoms, and HbA_1c and fasting plasma glucose levels were obtained. In addition, all patients underwent an in-hospital cardiorespiratory study with a 3-channel portable sleep diagnostic tool to diagnosis sleep apnea.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
Obstructive Sleep Apnea May Hinder Brain Development in Children
Can Exercise Alone Improve Outcomes in Sleep Apnea?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A total of 64 patients were diagnosed with sleep apnea.

After adjustments for gender, age, diabetes duration, diabetes treatment, waist circumference, and body mass index, the researchers found that patients with sleep apnea had higher HbA_1c compared with patients without sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea was positively correlated with HbA_1c. However, only the mean and lowest O2 saturation during sleep was significantly associated with HbA_1c after the researchers adjusted for confounding factors. In an additional analysis that adjusted for waist circumference, the lowest O2 saturation recorded during the sleep study remained independently associated with HbA_1c.

“The presence of sleep apnea is associated with poorer glycemic control in patients with [type 2 diabetes],” the researchers concluded. “In patients with sleep apnea and [type 2 diabetes], greater levels of oxygen desaturation are associated with poorer glycemic control.”

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Rusu A, Bala CG, Craciun AE, and Roman G. HbA_1c levels are associated with severity of hypoxemia and not with apnea hypopnea index in patients with type 2 diabetes: Results from a cross-sectional study [published online May 21, 2017]. J Diabetes. doi:10.1111/1753-0407.12452.