Sufferers Of Both Type 2 Diabetes And Sleep Apnea Could Lose Eyesight Within Four Years
Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines ! Sufferers of both Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea could lose eyesight within four years Patients who suffer from both Type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea are at greater risk of developing a condition that leads to blindness within an average period of less than four years, new research has found. Research led by the University of Birmingham has discovered that patients who suffer from both Type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea are at greater risk of developing a condition that leads to blindness within an average period of less than four years. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition where the walls of the throat relax and narrow during sleep, resulting in snoring and interrupting breathing, and it is common in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, diabetic retinopathy -the most common form of diabetic eye disease -- affects between 40 and 50 per cent of patients with diabetes and is a leading cause of blindness in the Western world. Previous studies have shown a link between OSA and diabetic retinopathy. However, prior to this research led by the University of Birmingham, published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, there had been no published studies assessing the impact of OSA on the progression of diabetic retinopathy in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Corresponding Author Doctor Abd Tahrani, of the University of Birmingham's Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, said: "Despite improvements in glucose, blood pressure and lipid levels, diabetic retinopathy remains very common. "Meanwhile, OSA has been shown to be very common in patients with Type 2 diabetes, which is not surprising considering that excess weight contributes to the d Continue reading >>
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- Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Type 2 Diabetes: Is There a Link?
The Link Between Sleep Apnea And Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association estimates that nearly 30 million Americans live with diabetes. Even more concerning, diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S. The condition can be caused by an autoimmune problem, where the body attacks the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin to keep blood sugar levels in check. This is known as type 1 diabetes. Or, the condition can be type 2 diabetes which arises from insulin resistance–where the body doesn’t respond to insulin and blood sugar remains at abnormal levels. Type 2 diabetes is more common and is not an autoimmune disease but rather a “lifestyle disease” once known as adult-onset or noninsulin-dependent diabetes. There is no cure for type 2 diabetes, but it can be managed and prevented. Type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease, but recent research has pinpointed another condition that is linked as well: sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is more than just an issue with sleep quality. Sleep apnea is the interruption of breathing, typically caused when tissue in the back of the throat collapses into the airway, blocking the breath, and is associated with a host of health issues. Experts have grown certain that the disorder increases cardiovascular (heart) risk, for example. There’s also mounting evidence that sleep apnea may contribute to problems like insulin resistance, glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes. “If you have hypertension (high blood pressure), you’re more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea; and if you have sleep apnea, you are more likely to have hypertension,”says Said Mostafavi, M.D., the Chief Medical Officer for Advanced Sleep Medicine Services, Inc. and a sleep specialist. “In the same way, if you have diabetes, you’re mor Continue reading >>
Sleep Apnea-diabetes Link Confirmed In Large Study
Sleep Apnea-Diabetes Link Confirmed in Large Study Severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may increase a person's risk of developing diabetes by 30% or more, according to an article published online June 6 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Now that that link has been confirmed in a large trial with a long follow-up period, clinicians may be able to intervene and take diabetes prevention measures for patients with OSA who have not yet developed the disease, researchers write. Tetyana Kendzerska, MD, PhD, from the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues analyzed provincial health data on 8678 adults without diabetes who underwent a diagnostic sleep study for suspected OSA between 1994 and 2010. The researchers followed the patients through May 2011. The study population had a median age of 48 years, and 62% of patients were men. Of the 8678 patients who underwent the sleep study, 1017 (11.7%) developed diabetes during a median of 67 months of follow-up, which translates to a cumulative incidence of 9.1% at 5 years (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.4% - 9.8%). Incidence came to 7.5% (95% CI, 6.3%-8.6%) for patients with mild OSA, 9.9% (95% CI, 8.3%-11.4%) for moderate OSA, and 14.9% (95% CI, 13.2%-16.6%) for severe OSA. The researchers analyzed all OSA-related variables, including total sleep time, amount of rapid eye movement sleep, total awakenings, oxygen saturation, and heart rate. They also adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, waist circumference, and self-reported tobacco and alcohol use. They developed an apnea-hypoxia index on the basis of the number of complete apneas and partial apneas (hypopneas). The apnea-hypoxia index ranged from less than 5 for no OSA dia Continue reading >>
Sleep Apnea And Diabetes
Tweet Sleep Apnoea, also called sleep apnea, is a common breathing disorder that affects many people whilst they sleep, could be an early warning that diabetes development is underway. Numerous medical studies have linked obstructive sleep apnoea with greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. According to experts, side effects directly related to sleep apnoea could influence the metabolism of people as they sleep. The condition is surprisingly common, to the extent that sleep apnoea has been termed: ‘the silent epidemic’. Sleep apnoea affects as many as one-tenth of middle-aged men, and manifests itself as an interruption of breathing during the hours of sleep. The correlation between sleep and diabetes is well-proven, with interruptions to deep sleep a key part of diabetes risk. Obesity makes both diabetes and sleep apnoea more likely. Why does sleep apnea damage the body and lead to greater risk of diabetes? Sleep apnoea is thought to be dangerous because it affects the concentration of oxygen within the bloodstream. It also plays havoc with sleep patterns, and can lead to daytime fatigue in more serious cases. The actual mechanism that causes sleep apnoea to influence oxygen If I have sleep apnea, am I a diabetic? Not necessarily, but having sleep apnoea does mean an increased risk of developing diabetes. Is OSAS the same as sleep apnea? OSAS stands for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome. What are the symptoms of Sleep Apnea? Sleep Apnoea occurs when an obstruction gets in the way of air entering the lungs. These short periods of stopping breathing are generally limited to a less than 10 seconds, and can occur often during the night. Generally, the brain works the sleeping person up when apnoea occurs, often with a snore or snort. How serious is Sleep Apnea? Exp Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes And Sleep
People who have diabetes often have poor sleep habits, including difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Some people with diabetes get too much sleep, while others have problems getting enough sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 63% of American adults do not get enough sleep needed for good health, safety, and optimum performance. There are several causes of sleep problems for people with type 2 diabetes, including obstructive sleep apnea, pain or discomfort, restless legs syndrome, the need to go to the bathroom, and other problems associated with type 2 diabetes. Sleep apnea involves pauses in breathing during sleep. The periods of stopped breathing are called apneas, which are caused by an obstruction of the upper airway. Apneas may be interrupted by a brief arousal that does not awaken you completely -- you often do not even realize that your sleep was disturbed. Yet if your sleep was measured in a sleep laboratory, technicians would record changes in the brain waves that are characteristic of awakening. Sleep apnea results in low oxygen levels in the blood because the blockages prevent air from getting to the lungs. The low oxygen levels also affect brain and heart function. Up to two-thirds of the people who have sleep apnea are overweight. Sleep apnea alters our sleep cycle and stages of sleep. Some studies have linked altered sleep stages with a decrease in growth hormone, which plays a key role in body composition such as body fat, muscle, and abdominal fat. Researchers have found a possible link between sleep apnea and the development of diabetes and insulin resistance (the inability of the body to use insulin). Peripheral neuropathy, or damage to the nerves in the feet and legs, is another cause of sleep disruption. This nerve damage can c Continue reading >>
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea And Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Are They Connected?
Obstructive sleep apnoea and Type 2 diabetes mellitus: are they connected? 1Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Changi General Hospital, Singapore 2Family Medicine, Changi General Hospital, Singapore 3Care and Health Integration, Changi General Hospital, Singapore 4Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Changi General Hospital, Singapore Correspondence: Dr Mok Yingjuan, Consultant, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Changi General Hospital, 2 Simei Street 3, Singapore 529889. [email protected]_nauj_gniy Copyright : Singapore Medical Association Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), a sleep-related breathing condition, is diagnosed based on a patients apnoea-hypopnea index from a sleep study, and the presence or absence of symptoms. Diabetes mellitus (DM) and OSA share a significant common risk factor, obesity, with all three conditions contributing to the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. The pathophysiological links between OSA and DM are still unclear, but intermittent hypoxia may be an important mechanism. More awareness of the possible link between OSA and DM is needed, given their increasing prevalence locally and worldwide. Continuous positive airway pressure is the standard treatment for OSA, while weight loss through dietary and lifestyle modifications is important to holistically manage patients with either condition. There is currently insufficient evidence to support the benefits of screening every diabetic patient for OSA. However, diabetic patients with symptoms suggestive of OSA should be referred to a sleep specialist for further evaluation. Keywords: diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnoea, sleep-disordered breathing Mr Lim visited your clinic with his wife for his regular review for Type 2 dia Continue reading >>
The Type 2 Diabetes And Sleep Apnea Connection
People with type 2 diabetes are at risk for sleep apnea, a disorder that's marked by pauses in breathing during sleep. If you have type 2 diabetes, there’s another condition that you should be aware of: sleep apnea, a disorder in which people experience pauses in their breathing throughout the night, possibly for one minute or more. In fact, according to a study published in 2013 in Family Medicine, people with type 2 diabetes can have a nearly 50-50 chance of being diagnosed with this sleep disorder. That’s a problem, since sleep apnea can worsen diabetes symptoms and lead to problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, or even stroke, says David Marrero, PhD, president of healthcare and education at the American Diabetes Association and director of the Diabetes Translational Research Center at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. “Untreated sleep apnea is associated with increases in glucose and poor quality of life stemming from chronic fatigue,” says Dr. Marrero. “It’s also associated with cardiovascular disease, which is why it’s so important for people to get their sleep apnea diagnosed and treated.” Sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes often coexist because of shared risk factors like obesity. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the more severe the untreated sleep apnea in a person with type 2 diabetes, the poorer their levels of glucose control. Read on to learn more about sleep apnea and how you can treat it effectively. Sleep Apnea: It's More Than Just Snoring Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that’s characterized by pauses in breathing. These episodes, called apneas, can wake the sleeper as he or she gasps for air, which can lead to poor sleep and chronic tiredness. The most common type of sleep apnea is Continue reading >>
Obstructive Sleep Apnea And Type 2 Diabetes: Is There A Link?
Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Type 2 Diabetes: Is There a Link? 1Respiratory Division, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada 2Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA Edited by: Sigrid Veasey, University of Pennsylvania, USA Reviewed by: Vsevolod Polotsky, Johns Hopkins University, USA; Sigrid Veasey, University of Pennsylvania, USA *Correspondence: Sushmita Pamidi, Respiratory Division, McGill University Health Centre, Room L4.05, 687 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A1A1. e-mail: [email protected] This article was submitted to Frontiers in Sleep and Chronobiology, a specialty of Frontiers in Neurology. Received 2012 Jun 16; Accepted 2012 Jul 24. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits use, distribution and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited and subject to any copyright notices concerning any third-party graphics etc. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Type 2 diabetes is a chronic illness that is increasing in epidemic proportions worldwide. Major factors contributing to the development of type 2 diabetes include obesity and poor lifestyle habits (e.g., excess dietary intake and limited physical activity). Despite the proven efficacy of lifestyle interventions and the use of multiple pharmacological agents, the economic and public health burden of type 2 diabetes remains substantial. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a treatable sleep disorder that is pervasive among overweight and obese adults, who represent about two thirds of the U.S. population today. An ever-growing number of studies have shown that OSA is associated with insulin resistance, glucose intolerance Continue reading >>
The Relationship Between Sleep Apnea And Diabetes
November is National Diabetes Month. Who knew that diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) could be related? People who have both do, and are probably the most compliant with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy because they know its benefit to both conditions. Consider this: Diabetes is a worldwide epidemic. Meanwhile, sleep-disordered breathing often remains undiagnosed and, therefore, untreated. A correlation between both conditions is notsurprising, as today's research confirms. Which Came First: OSA or Diabetes? Researchers have known about this relationship for more than two decades. A key study led by Rees in 1981 reported the high incidence of sleep breathing disorders in diabetics. Many studies since then have shown independent associations between sleep apnea, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Today, insulin resistance is a well-known risk factor for diabetes. But can one cause the other?It's complicated. Having diabetes could cause sleep breathing problems. Having OSA can lead to diabetes. Many diabetics are also obese, and obesity itself can lead to OSA. On the other hand, a person may not be diabetic at all, or live in a pre-diabetic state, and they may not even be obese. Should that person develop OSA, they are more likely to also develop diabetes if they don't treat their OSA. What Statistics Show According to Dr. Osama Hamdy, director at the Inpatient Diabetes Program at Boston's Joslin Diabetes Center, OSA affects about half of all diabetics. A 2014 study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine shows that for nondiabetics, 1 in 3 patients with severe OSA will also develop diabetes. Other studies show that when the severity of OSA increases, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance increase as well. Continue reading >>
Link Between Sleep & Diabetes: Everything You Need To Know
According to National Sleep Foundation, 63% of American population do not get enough daily sleep. Do you also know that most people who suffer from diabetes often have poor sleeping habits? This includes irregular sleeping schedule, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. And although little has been mentioned about caregivers and parents of diabetes patients, they are more likely to acquire poor sleeping habits and have a higher tendency to suffer from sleeping problems and consequently develop Type 2 diabetes themselves. So if you have diabetes or are currently caring for someone who has diabetes, this article will educate you more about how sleeping disorders can affect your health and how you can get better sleep. This article will cover the following topics: Relationship Between Sleep and Diabetes Your health and sleep go hand in hand. When you do not sleep enough, your body does not get the needed time to repair. As a result, you tend to be unfocused and irritable, and you suddenly have the urge to eat. If this scenario sounds too familiar to you, maybe you should rethink about the relationship between sleep and your diabetes. The Missing Link — Hormones Sleep plays a crucial role in restoring our body cells. Under healthy conditions, after eating, the pancreas secretes insulin to signal fat cells and muscles to absorb the glucose from food to be used for energy creation and prevents the body from using fat as energy source. This chain of reaction causes the blood glucose levels to resume normal. And to prevent the individual from feeling hungry, the body produces the hormone leptin to depresses the appetite. However, when it comes to diabetes individuals, the muscle and fat cells fails to respond to insulin. This causes a high glucose level in the bloodst Continue reading >>
Can Diabetes Affect Your Sleep Schedule?
Diabetes is a condition in which the body is unable to produce insulin properly. This causes excess levels of glucose in the blood. The most common types are type 1 and type 2 diabetes. If you have type 1, your pancreas doesn’t produce insulin, so you must take it on a daily basis. If you have type 2, your body can make some of its own insulin, but it’s often not enough. This means that your body can’t use the insulin correctly. Depending on how well you control your blood sugar, you may or may not experience symptoms. Short-term symptoms of high blood sugar can include frequent thirst or hunger, as well as frequent urination. It isn’t uncommon for these symptoms to have an impact on the way you sleep. Here’s what the research has to say. In one 2012 study, researchers examined the associations between sleep disturbance and diabetes. Sleep disturbance includes difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, or sleeping too much. The study found a clear relationship between sleep disturbance and diabetes. The researchers say that sleep deprivation is a significant risk factor for diabetes, which can sometimes be controlled. Having diabetes doesn’t necessarily mean that your sleep will be impacted. It’s more a matter of what symptoms of diabetes you experience and how you manage them. Certain symptoms are more likely to cause issues when you’re trying to rest: High blood sugar levels can cause frequent urination. If your blood sugar is high at night, you could end up getting up frequently to use the bathroom. When your body has extra glucose, it draws water from your tissues. This can make you feel dehydrated, prompting you to get up for regular glasses of water. The symptoms of low blood sugar, such as shakiness, dizziness, and sweating, can affect your slee Continue reading >>
New Study Links Blood Sugar Levels With Sleep Apnea
Researchers have found an association between obstructive sleep apnea and increased blood sugar levels, with severity of the sleep disorder being linked with increased levels. Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by brief pauses in breathing during sleep, causing daytime fatigue; it’s also been linked with a number of health problems, including heart disease, depression, and weight gain. The findings, published in the European Respiratory Journal, included 5,294 people without diabetes who were part of the European Sleep Apnoea Cohort. Researchers examined the severity of their sleep apnea, and also measured their blood levels of glycosylated hemoglobin, or HbA1c (an indicator for the average blood sugar level over time). People with diabetes are known to have higher levels of HbA1c than people without diabetes; higher levels are also an indicator of poor blood sugar control and an increased risk for heart disease. Researchers found an association between HbA1c levels and sleep apnea severity. Specifically, the people in the study with the least severe sleep apnea also had the lowest HbA1c levels, while people with the most severe sleep apnea had the highest HbA1c levels. The findings held true even after taking into account factors including obesity, sex and daytime sleepiness. The findings add to research suggesting a link between sleep apnea and diabetes. A recent study presented at the ATS 2012 International Conference showed that moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea predicted Type 2 diabetes, and that sleep apnea was associated with HbA1c levels. Continue reading >>
The Diabetes-sleep Apnea Link
By Marianne Wait Maybe your bedmate has noticed that you snore loudly and stop breathing for seconds or even minutes at a time, and then start again with a loud snort or gasp. Or perhaps you’re inexplicably tired during the day despite getting a solid seven or eight hours of sleep. If this sounds like you, you may have sleep apnea. What is Sleep Apnea? People with sleep apnea stop breathing or have periods of very shallow breathing while sleeping, usually multiple times a night. It’s no wonder they wake up exhausted. The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea, in which the airway collapses or becomes blocked during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is more common in people who are overweight, but it can affect anyone. Central sleep apnea is less common. It occurs if the area of the brain that controls breathing fails to send the right signals to the breathing muscles. Symptoms of Sleep Apnea Most people who have sleep apnea don’t know they have it. Other signs and symptoms include morning headaches, dry mouth, or a sore throat; difficulty concentrating; irritability or depression; and waking up often to urinate. If your doctor suspects sleep apnea, he or she may refer you to a sleep specialist. That expert may prescribe a sleep study, either at home using portable monitors or in a sleep lab, to help make the diagnosis. How Diabetes and Sleep Apnea are Connected People with type 2 diabetes are at much higher than average risk for sleep apnea—and in a vicious cycle, having untreated sleep apnea can raise blood glucose levels. On the positive side, if you have type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea, treating your sleep apnea may help you manage your blood sugar levels and could even improve your insulin sensitivity, according to the American Academy of Sl Continue reading >>
The Connection Between Sleep Apnea & Diabetes
The Connection Between Sleep Apnea & Diabetes American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Daniel Einhorn, MD, FACP, FACE, has indicated to Physicians Weekly that he has or has had no financial interests to report. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Daniel Einhorn, MD, FACP, FACE, has indicated to Physicians Weekly that he has or has had no financial interests to report. Asking patients questions about their sleep and treating sleep apnea may improve diabetes control while offering the added benefit of enhancing quality of life. In clinical research, sleep disordered breathing conditions like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have been associated with insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. OSA is typically characterized by loud snoring and pauses in breathing while sleeping. Excess weight is often considered the cause of OSA because fat deposits around the upper airways obstruct breathing. Obesity has been identified as a significant risk factor for OSA as well as diabetes, but studies suggest that obesity status is not the only determinant. Also, diabetes itself is a major risk factor and complication of OSA. In addition to causing poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness, OSA has other important clinical consequences, including an increased risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite the significant burden that OSA and other sleep disorders has on patients, these health problems are not well recognized by clinicians. OSA is commonly found in people with type 2 diabetes, but clinicians need to ask their patients about daytime drowsiness, snoring, and impaired sleep symptoms in order to identify the problem, says Daniel Einhorn, MD, FACP, FACE. He notes that the link between OSA and type 2 diabetes has important clinical, epidem Continue reading >>
Sleep Apnea Increases Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Years of research have suggested that there is a connection between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and Type 2 diabetes. Now, the largest study investigating the conditions to date has demonstrated a link between the severity of a person’s OSA and his risk of developing Type 2. OSA is a condition in which breathing stops for 10 seconds or more during sleep, sometimes hundreds of times a night. The disorder affects approximately 18 million people in the United States, and research has shown that the condition is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular death. To determine whether OSA increases the risk of developing diabetes, researchers from the University of Toronto looked at 8,678 adults with suspected OSA who underwent a sleep study between 1994 and 2010. The severity of each person’s sleep apnea was evaluated using a measurement known as the apnea-hypoapnea index (AHI), which indicates the number of times a person stops breathing or breathes irregularly each hour. Based on the results, the study subjects were placed into one of four OSA categories — none, mild, moderate, or severe — and were then followed through May 2011 to examine whether they went on to develop diabetes. Over the course of the follow-up period, 1,017 (11.7%) of the participants developed Type 2 diabetes. After adjusting for risk factors known to increase a person’s chances of developing the condition, including age, sex, body-mass index, neck circumference, smoking, and income status, people with severe OSA were found to have a 30% higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes than people without OSA. Additionally, those with mild or moderate OSA were found to have a 23% increased risk of developing Type 2 compared to those without OSA. Additional risk factors for diabetes included e Continue reading >>
