Irregular Sleep Duration Tied to Increased Risk for Developing Diabetes

FRIDAY, July 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Irregular sleep duration is associated with elevated diabetes risk, according to a study published online July 17 in Diabetes Care.

Sina Kianersi, Ph.D., from Brigham and Women”s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined the association between irregular sleep duration and incident diabetes among 84,421 U.K. Biobank participants (mean age, 62 years) during seven years of follow-up.

The researchers identified 2,058 incident diabetes cases during 622,080 person-years of follow-up. After adjustment for age, sex, and race, compared with sleep duration standard deviation (SD) ≤30 minutes, the hazard ratios (95 percent confidence intervals) were 1.15 (0.99 to 1.33), 1.28 (1.10 to 1.48), 1.54 (1.32 to 1.80), and 1.59 (1.33 to 1.90) for 31 to 45, 46 to 60, 61 to 90, and ≥91 minutes, respectively. A nonlinear association was observed, with a 34 percent higher diabetes risk for individuals with a sleep duration SD of >60 versus ≤60 minutes. The association was attenuated after further adjustment for lifestyle, comorbidities, environmental factors, and adiposity (hazard ratio for sleep duration SD of >60 versus ≤60 minutes, 1.11; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.01 to 1.22). Individuals with a lower diabetes polygenic risk score and longer sleep duration had stronger associations.

“Middle-aged to older adults with inconsistent sleep duration over the week have a heightened risk of developing diabetes relative to their counterparts with more consistent sleep pattern,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Versalux and Delos, and is a director and founder of Circadian Health Innovations.

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