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Review
. 2019 Apr;43(2):144-155.
doi: 10.4093/dmj.2018.0256.

Metabolic Consequences of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Especially Pertaining to Diabetes Mellitus and Insulin Sensitivity

Sun Ok Song  1   2   3 , Ken He  4 , Radhika R Narla  2   5 , Hyun Goo Kang  6 , Han Uk Ryu  7 , Edward J Boyko  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Metabolic Consequences of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Especially Pertaining to Diabetes Mellitus and Insulin Sensitivity

Sun Ok Song et al. Diabetes Metab J. 2019 Apr.

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and diabetes has been known to be closely related to each other and both diseases impact highly on the public health. There are many evidence of reports that OSA is associated with diabetes with a bidirectional correlation. A possible causal mechanism of OSA to diabetes is intermittent hypoxemia and diabetes to OSA is microvascular complication. However, OSA and diabetes have a high prevalence rate in public and shares the common overlap characteristic and risk factors such as age, obesity, and metabolic syndrome that make it difficult to establish the exact pathophysiologic mechanism between them. In addition, studies demonstrating that treatment of OSA may help prevent diabetes or improve glycemic control have not shown convincing result but have become a great field of interest research. This review outlines the bidirectional correlation between OSA and diabetes and explore the pathophysiologic mechanisms by approaching their basic etiologies.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; Insulin resistance; Obesity; Sleep apnea syndromes.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Proposed interaction of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and diabetes. RERA, respiratory effort related arousal; DM, diabetes mellitus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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