Comprehensive study links sleep apnea with diabetes

More than 8,500 Canadian adults were studied over six years, linking obstructive sleep apnea with increased risk of developing diabetes:

The study included 8,678 adults with suspected OSA without diabetes at baseline who underwent a diagnostic sleep study between 1994 and 2010 and were followed through May 2011 using provincial health administrative data to examine the occurrence of diabetes. Sleep apnea severity was assessed with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), which indicates severity based on the number of apneas (complete cessation of airflow) and hypopneas (partial cessation of airflow) per hour of sleep. Patients were classified as not having OSA (AHI < 5), or having mild (AHI 5-14.9), moderate (AHI 15-30) or severe (AHI>30) OSA. During follow-up, 1,017 (11.7%) patients developed diabetes. In analyses adjusting for known risk factors for diabetes, including age, sex, body mass index, neck circumference, smoking, income status and comorbidities at baseline, patients with an AHI>30 had a 30% higher risk of developing diabetes than those with an AHI

Conclusion: early diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea is the recommended approach.

Learn About Your Sleep Apnea Treatment Options

Diabetes is just one of a large number of serious health risks that have been associated and correlated with untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). If you are suffering from sleep apnea, or if you would like to stop using your CPAP device, a surgical solution may be the best answer for you. Contact Surgical Sleep Solutions today to speak with a physician about your condition.