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. 2016 Sep:25:156-161.
doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2016.05.009. Epub 2016 Sep 29.

Obstructive sleep apnea and incident type 2 diabetes

Mako Nagayoshi  1 , Naresh M Punjabi  2 , Elizabeth Selvin  3 , James S Pankow  4 , Eyal Shahar  5 , Hiroyasu Iso  6 , Aaron R Folsom  4 , Pamela L Lutsey  4
Affiliations

Obstructive sleep apnea and incident type 2 diabetes

Mako Nagayoshi et al. Sleep Med. 2016 Sep.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine whether severity of obstructive sleep apnea is associated with incident diabetes in middle-aged and older adults.

Methods: A prospective analysis of 1453 non-diabetic participants of both the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study and the Sleep Heart Health Study (mean age 63 years, 46% male) had in-home polysomnography (1996-1998) and was followed up for incident diabetes. Using the apnea-hypopnea index derived from home polysomnography, study participants were categorized as follows: <5.0 (normal), 5.0-14.9 (mild), 15.0-29.9 (moderate), and ≥30.0 events/h (severe). Incident diabetes was ascertained during annual follow-up telephone calls through 2013.

Results: During a median follow-up of 13 years, there were 285 incident diabetes cases among the 1453 participants. Participants with severe obstructive sleep apnea were at greater risk of incident diabetes compared to persons classified as normal after adjustment for confounders including body mass index and waist circumference (1.71 [1.08, 2.71]). The association between severe obstructive sleep apnea and incident diabetes was similar when analyses were restricted to obese individuals.

Conclusions: Severe obstructive sleep apnea was associated with greater risk of incident diabetes, independent of adiposity in a community-based sample. Healthcare professionals should be cognizant of the high prevalence of OSA in the general population and the potential link to incident diabetes.

Keywords: Diabetes; Epidemiology; Obesity; Obstructive sleep apnea.

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Conflict of interest statement

This was not an industry supported study. All authors have no relevant conflict of interest to disclose. The ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form for Potential Conflicts of Interest associated with this article can be viewed by clicking on the following link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2016.05.009.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study sample flow chart. AHI, apnea–hypopnea index, ARIC Study, Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study; SHHS, Sleep Heart Health Study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

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