More sleep, less diabetes

To the many problems associated with lack of sleep – moodiness, memory problems, difficulty concentrating – add the risk of developing diabetes.

A study from the University at Buffalo (UB) shows that people who sleep less than six hours a night during the work-week are 4.5 times more likely to have elevated levels of blood sugar than those who slumber six to eight hours.

The findings were presented at the American Heart Association’s 49th annual conference on cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention.

“Impaired fasting glucose, a reading higher than 100, is known as pre-diabetes, which is a precursor to type 2 diabetes,” said Dr Lisa Rafalson, a National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellow in the UB Department of Family Medicine and first author on the study.

“In fact, about 25% of people who have impaired fasting glucose will at some point develop type 2 diabetes, which is associated with many complications, including heart disease and premature death”.

Dr Rafalson’s findings were based on data from an average six-year follow-up of participants who initially took part in the Western New York Health Study, conducted from 1996-2001.

The 91 persons with normal fasting glucose levels at baseline who developed pre-diabetes by their follow-up exam were matched to persons from the study who had maintained normal glucose levels who served as controls.

“This study supports growing evidence of the association of inadequate sleep with adverse health issues,” said Dr Rafalson.

She suggested that during annual “well” visits, physicians should discuss sleep habits with their patients, along with diet and exercise and other lifestyle issues that are important to long-term health.

“Genetic susceptibility is always a possible explanation for this finding,” she noted, “but it is more likely that pathways involving hormones and the nervous system are involved in the impaired-sleep/fasting glucose association.

“We hope our findings will generate more research into this complex relationship between sleep and illness,” she said.