“In France in 2022, more than 4.3 million people were treated for diabetes, or 6.3% of the population. 44.8% were women and 55.2% were men,” explains Health Insurance. There are two types of diabetes depending on insulin abnormalities: type 1 diabetes which is due to a lack of secretion insulin by the pancreas and the Type 2 diabetes which is due to poor use of insulin by the body’s cells. Namely, type 2 diabetes affects 92% of diabetics. In a recent study published in review American Diabetes Association, Scientists have found that irregular sleep duration may put you at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
34% increased risk of diabetes for people with irregular sleep duration
To conduct their study, the scientists analyzed data related to the physical activity habits and sleep habits of more than 84,000 people from a UK Biobank cohort study. The average age of the participants was 62 years, and 57% of them were women. It is worth noting that not all of the volunteers were initially diabetic. Their sleep variability was analyzed over seven nights using accelerometers, which are devices that measure daily physical activity and monitor movement. The evolution of the participants’ diabetes was also closely monitored over seven and a half years by the researchers using medical records, death registers and/or self-reported diagnoses.
After analyzing the results, the researchers found that a sleep duration more irregular was associated with a higher risk of developing diabetes. This finding was even more visible in participants with longer sleep duration and a lower polygenic risk score for diabetes. Polygenic risk corresponds to the total number of variants that increase an individual’s risk of developing a specific disease. Indeed, by comparing data from volunteers with sleep habits regular, and those of volunteers whose daily sleep duration varied by more than 60 minutes on average, the scientists found that people with irregular sleep duration had a 34% higher risk of developing diabetes. A risk that decreased, but still persisted, even after taking into account lifestyle, comorbidities, family history of diabetes and indicators of obesity.
Essential results for diabetes prevention
According to Sina Kianersi, lead author of the study, who spoke in a statement, “The results could improve diabetes prevention at several levels.” She also indicates that “Clinically, they could inform better care and treatment plans for patients, but also encourage regular sleep habits.” However, she expresses some limitations to the study, including the fact that, “Further research is needed to fully understand the mechanism and confirm the results in other populations.” But also, that “assessing sleep duration over 7 days may not reflect long-term sleep patterns,” she concludes.
Sources :
- Association Between Accelerometer-Measured Irregular Sleep Duration and Type 2 Diabetes Risk: A Prospective Cohort Study in the UK Biobank – American Diabetes Association
- Study finds irregular sleep patterns lead to increased risk of type 2 diabetes – Eurekalert
- What is diabetes? – Health Insurance
