Irregular sleep linked to development of type 2 diabetes

Irregular sleep duration appears to be associated with an increased risk of diabetes, researchers reported on July 17, 2024 in Diabetes Care.

“Our study identified a modifiable lifestyle factor that can help lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes,” said lead author Sina Kianersi, PhD, research fellow in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. “Our findings underscore the importance of consistent sleep patterns as a strategy to reduce type 2 diabetes.”

The new study analyzed accelerometry data from more than 84,421 participants in the UK Biobank Study. UK Biobank is a large long-term study in the United Kingdom  investigating the respective contributions of genetic predisposition and environmental exposure (including nutrition, lifestyle, medications etc.) to the development of disease.

Subjects were an average age of 62 years (57% female, 97% white) and were initially free of diabetes.

For seven nights they wore accelerometers, watch-like devices that monitor movement. The subjects were then tracked for approximately 7.5 years for the development of diabetes. The investigators used standard statistical tools to estimate the ensuing risk of diabetes according to baseline sleep patterns.

The investigators identified 2,058 incident diabetes cases from 622,080 person-years of follow-up.

“Irregular sleep patterns” were defined as day-to-day sleep duration variation of more than 60 minutes on average

After adjusting for a range of risk factors, the researchers found that compared to subjects with regular sleep patterns, those with irregular sleep patterns had a 34% higher risk of developing diabetes.

The researchers have two plans for future research, to study specifically younger subjects and to study those from diverse racial backgrounds.

They also cite the importance of studying the biological reasons for the apparent link between sleep irregularity and diabetes.

“Our findings have the potential to improve diabetes prevention on multiple levels,” said Kianersi. “Clinically, they might inform better patient care and treatment plans. Public health guidelines could promote regular sleep patterns. However, more research is needed to fully understand the mechanism and confirm the results in other populations.”