Study Finds People with Type 2 Diabetes Who Sleep Poorly Are at Higher Risk of Premature Death
Occasionally missing out on a good night’s sleep can make it hard to focus or cause you to drag throughout the day. Regular lack of sleep is a bit more serious and can lead to chronic conditions like obesity and diabetes. Now, a new study has found that those with diabetes who don’t get enough sleep may be at a higher risk of premature death.
Researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Surrey teamed up to look at the sleeping patterns of half a million middle aged people in the United Kingdom. They discovered that while those who regularly woke up or had trouble sleeping in general were more apt to die early, the risk was even greater if the person had type 2 diabetes. The study was published in the Journal of Sleep Research.
Malcolm von Schantz, lead author and professor of chronobiology at the University of Surrey, says, “Although we already knew that there is a strong link between poor sleep and poor health, this illustrates the problem starkly.”
To conduct the study, the team used data from the UK Biobank, a large population-based study created to explore risk factors of common diseases in middle and older age. Between 2006 and 2010, it enrolled more than 500,000 people. One of the questions participants were asked was if they had trouble falling asleep or found themselves waking up in the middle of the night. Researchers then paired these responses with the presence of diabetes.
In the nine-year study period, the team found that those with type 2 diabetes who struggled to sleep were 87% more likely to die of any cause than people who suffered from neither issue. In addition, they were 12% more likely to die compared with diabetics who did not have a disrupted sleep pattern.
Kristen Knutson, senior co-author and professor at Northwestern University, says, “Diabetes alone was associated with a 67% increased risk of mortality. However, the mortality for participants with diabetes combined with frequent sleep problems was increased to 87%. In other words, it is particularly important for doctors treating people with diabetes to also investigate sleep disorders and consider treatments where appropriate.”
The authors noted that similar studies done in Norway, China, and the United States also linked poor sleep with an increased mortality risk.
There were some limitations to the study, including the fact that participants skewed slightly healthier than the general UK population, the mean follow-up time was only nine years, and that there weren’t records of alcohol use among participants.
Von Schantz notes that they didn’t have full knowledge of sleep disorders present among the study group, either.
He says, “The question asked when the participants enrolled does not necessarily distinguish between insomnia and other sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea. Still, from a practical point of view it doesn’t matter. Doctors should take sleep problems as seriously as other risk factors and work with their patients on reducing and mitigating their overall risk.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lack of sleep in diabetics can also lead to increased insulin resistance, impact feelings of hunger, make it harder to lose weight, raise blood pressure, and weaken the immune system.
