The risks of suffering from diabetes and insomnia, according to study 0:56
(CNN) -
People with diabetes who sleep poorly have a higher risk of dying prematurely, according to a study.
People with diabetes who had trouble falling or staying asleep were 87% more likely to die from any cause in the next nine years than people without diabetes or sleep problems, according to a new study.
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The study, published Tuesday in the
Journal of Sleep Research
, analyzed data from nearly half a million middle-aged participants in the UK Biobank Study, which houses comprehensive genetic and health information on UK residents.
After controlling for medical and lifestyle aspects that could also affect sleep, such as age, gender, weight, smoking, depression and other pre-existing illnesses, the study found that people who slept poorly but did not have diabetes they were 11% more likely to die in the study's nine-year follow-up period than people without diabetes who slept well.
“People with diabetes, but without sleep disorders, were 67% more likely to die compared to people who had neither diabetes nor sleep problems, and 87% more likely to die if they had both diabetes and sleep problems. common sleep disorders, "said study author Kristen Knutson, associate professor of neurology and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Knutson and his team also compared people with diabetes who slept well with those with the disease who used to sleep poorly.
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"People with diabetes who slept poorly were 12% more likely to die over a nine-year follow-up period than people with diabetes who slept without frequent sleep disturbances," Knutson said.
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The study is the first to look at the combination of diabetes plus sleep disturbances and mortality risk, he added.
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Such a study can only show association and not causation, said Dr. Raj Dasgupta, a sleep specialist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. investigation.
Although the study results are concerning, he said, they are not surprising.
"Diabetes is a deadly disease and can easily be affected by sleep, or vice versa," said Dasguta.
"Are you sleeping poorly because your diabetes is poorly controlled or is poor sleep making your diabetes worse?"
For example, Dasgupta said, people with type 2 diabetes, the most common type, tend to be overweight and may suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, when the throat muscles relax and close the airways, disrupting sleep. .
"People with type 2 diabetes are also predisposed to kidney problems and to make multiple trips to the bathroom at night because they are always urinating, especially if their diabetes is poorly controlled," he added.
"They can also have damage to the blood vessels that causes pain in the legs called neuropathy, and it is difficult to fall asleep because of that pain."
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Poor-quality sleep may also affect the body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels, thus contributing to the development of diabetes, Knutson said.
"There is experimental work that shows that if you take healthy people and sleep is disturbed, you see alterations in insulin sensitivity," he said.
"There could be a two-way association between the two, so if you have sleep problems for a long period of time, it could actually lead to the development of diabetes."
To do?
Recognize and address your sleep problems, regardless of whether or not you have diabetes, Knutson said.
Poor sleep is a risk factor for premature death from any cause alone.
“If you normally have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, you have to talk to a doctor and really get to the root of the problem.
Find out why you're not sleeping well and then figure out how to fix it, ”he said.
If you have diabetes, "treat your diabetes, that's the message that comes out of this study," said Dasgupta, "diabetes is something that needs to be managed by your primary care physician and endocrinologist."
If you don't sleep well, it can be more difficult to control your diabetes, Knutson said.
"It is not easy to do this and, furthermore, if you are sleep deprived, you may not remember as well to take your medication or to measure your blood sugar levels," he said.
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A sleep study may also be needed by a sleep specialist to see if you have an underlying sleep disorder, Dasgupta said.
"When you tell me that someone wakes up quite a bit and has diabetes, they may not only have to treat diabetes, but they may have to treat sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome or another sleep problem," added Dasgupta.
"Do not hesitate to seek the help you need."
Sleep quality Diabetes premature death