Sleep Apnea could increase diabetes risk

According to fresh research from the Yale University School of Medicine, patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea face increased danger of developing type 2 diabetes, regardless of other risks. The conclusions of the report are presented at an annual conference held by the Thoracic Society today.
The researchers, who studied 593 VA Connecticut Health Care System patients, conducted a technique known as polysomnography. Following subjects for six years, they found that those with sleep-disordered breathing had two and a half times diabetes development risk. The team also found that the more severe the condition, the greater the risk.
Sleep apnea means that the upper airway can narrow or even collapse overnight. When this happens, the subject wakes up briefly. The symptoms of sleep apnea itself include obesity, and recent years have increasingly seen the condition associated with stroke, hypertension and heart disease .
Treatment forms for sleep apnea include continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP.) Researcher Nader Botros reportedly commented: “Our next step will be to determine whether the treatment of sleep apnea can improve an individual’s diabetic parameters and consequently the negative health effects of diabetes.”