Two studies, one conducted in 2005 and the other in 2007 have concluded that there is a correlation between sleep apnea and type II diabetes. This article will describe the key points of each study and their conclusions. It will then suggest what can be taken from this information.
Sleep apnea is interrupted sleep that is caused by a pause in breath. The pause in breath is because of central sleep apnea that is described as pause of breath due to lack of effort. Or is because of obstructive sleep apnea that is due to a blocked air passage. If you have witnessed anybody experiencing this condition it is unmistakable. The person will be breathing normally or snoring. There will be a pause and they will appear to momentarily splutter awake. In fact they are not aware of this ‘awakening’ and will go back to sleep. This may happen again and again. An instant like this is called an apnea. If 5 such instances occur within an hour the person is said to be clinically suffering from sleep apnea.
An experiment conducted by the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 2005 concluded that their was increased prevalence of diabetes in people with sleep disordered breathing. It did not investigate if sleep disordered breathing was responsible for causing diabetes.
The study used 1387 people. Sleep apnea was determined by a standard polysomnograhy test. The diabetes was determined through diagnosis or a fasting test.
Of the group of people with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 15 or more, 14.7% had diabetes. This contrasted with 2.9% of people that had an AHI of less than 5.
The more recent study was conducted in 2007 by Yale Medical School. The experiment was focused on the correlation between diabetes II and obstructed breathing sleep disorders. 593 people were studied over a six year period. The conclusion was that people with sleep apnea were two and a half times more likely to develop diabetes than people without sleep apnea.
Again, this study does not draw any conclusions about sleep apnea causing diabetes and further research is needed.
Some ideas on the possible causal relationship between sleep apnea and diabetes are conflicting. For instance, a major cause of sleep apnea is overweight or obesity. This is also thought to worsen if not cause type II diabetes. However key researcher in the Yale Medical School study, Doctor Nader Botros believes that sleep apnea triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response in sufferers.
The ‘fight or flight’ response is the classic reaction to stress. It triggers the release of a number of hormones including adrenaline and cortisol into the body. It is believed that excessive cortisol leads to insulin resistance in the body that is a early stage of type II diabetes. Should a sleep apnea sufferer have 100 or so apneas a night this could massively increase the level of cortisol in his/her body and potentially induce insulin resistance.
Once again, more research is needed into the relationship between sleep apnea and diabetes but one thing is sure, if you suffer from sleep apnea you should get treatment for it. Left untreated it could lead to further complications and a constant feeling of tiredness.
By: Adrian Whittle
Posts Tagged ‘Prevalence Of Diabetes’
Sleep Apnea And Type II Diabetes
March 3rd, 2010Diabetes – The Controllable Disease
February 8th, 2010
Introduction
Diabetes is a disease that affects how the body uses glucose (say: gloo-kose), a sugar that is the body’s main source of fuel. Diabetes is a chronic condition that needs close attention, but with some practical knowledge, you can become your child’s most important ally in learning to live with the disease.
“The prevalence of diabetes is going up because obesity is going up,” says Judith Fradkin, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. “Generally, the first step in treatment is to make patients believe that diabetes is a disease that can be effectively controlled. The “amount of money it will cost in 10 years to manage diabetes is going to bust the economies” of many countries, says institute president Paul Robertson.
Diabetes
Diabetes, caused by the body’s inability to produce or use insulin effectively to prevent a buildup of sugar in the blood, now afflicts nearly 21 million in the USA and roughly 250 million worldwide. Diabetes can also cause long-term complications in some people, including heart disease, stroke, vision impairment, and kidney damage. Diabetes can also cause other problems in the blood vessels, nerves, and gums.
Blood
During the past decade, medical studies have shown that by reducing high blood pressure and cholesterol and keeping blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible, diabetics can forestall many of the disabling complications that once seemed inevitable. This knowledge, along with simpler, more accurate blood tests and better drugs, has improved treatment, says Buse, an endocrinologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “New drug treatments, more accurate methods for monitoring blood sugar levels and assessing control of diabetes, and practical steps that patients can take are more common than ever, she says. Until 1993, it wasn’t clear that lowering blood sugar prevented or delayed complications, and it’s only within the past decade that doctors learned that managing blood pressure and cholesterol reduced complications, she says.
Type
There are two major forms of diabetes: type 1, an autoimmune disease that results in loss of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and usually occurs in children or young adults, who need daily insulin shots; and type 2, which accounts for 90% of diabetes cases and is associated with obesity and inactivity and reduces the ability to use insulin efficiently.
Type 1 diabetes (formerly called insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile diabetes) occurs when the person’s own immune system attacks and destroys the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes occurs at about the same rate in men and women, but it is more common in Whites than in minorities.
Type 2 diabetes (formerly called non-insulin-dependent diabetes) is different. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes about 9 out of 10 people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is more common in older people, mainly in people who are overweight.
Conclusion
The best way to prevent diabetes is to make some lifestyle changes and maintain a healthy weight.
By: Richard Ealom
