People who have trouble sleeping may be at a greater risk of diabetes

Wed, 01 Dec 2010
A restless night’s sleep and snoring may predict the risk of diabetes, a new study has revealed. It was found that people who have a bad night’s sleep are more likely to develop conditions linked to diabetes and heart disease, and that those who snored loudly had double the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, including diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure than those who slept quietly. The likelihood increased dramatically to 80 per cent in those who found it difficult to fall asleep and to 70 per cent for those who woke up feeling unrefreshed.

It is already known that there is a connection between duration of sleep and sleep apnea, a disorder where people have pauses in breathing while they sleep, and the risk of some parts of metabolic syndrome. This study, published in the journal Sleep, was the first to look at difficulties with sleep and metabolic syndrome as a whole.

Wendy Troxel, lead author of the research, commented "Sleep problems aren’t just an annoyance but something with potential major public health ramifications. Sleep complaints aren’t just the problems of the ‘worried well,’ they could foreshadow significant physical health problems ."

It examined 812 people without metabolic syndrome, with the patients undergoing annual checkups to see if they had developed metabolic syndrome, with problems with sleep being assessed by a questionnaire. It was also found that loud snoring could be a problem for the heart regardless of its relationship with sleep apnea.

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