Is there a sleep apnea and diabetes link?

There is so much research about sleep and the many different ways that it affects our bodies.  Here is a great article about sleep apnea may be linked to diabetes.

New research adds more evidence to the link between sleep problems and metabolic disorders like diabetes.

Moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea are predictors of Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study presented at the ATS 2012 International Conference.

The researchers also found that the sleep condition and night-time hypoxemia (low oxygen levels in the blood) were linked with levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), associated with diabetes.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep condition that occurs when a person stops breathing during
sleep because of obstructed sleep airways, according to the A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia.

"Our study shows that OSAS is independently associated with metabolic disturbances," study researcher Brian Kent, MBBCh, a research fellow at St. Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin, said in a statement. "This is important because individuals with T2DM [Type 2 diabetes mellitus] or elevated HbA1c levels are more likely to die of cardiovascular disease."

The study included 7,886 people who participated in overnight sleep studies at 22 sleep labs in Europe.

Past research has also shown a link between diabetes and sleep apnea -- a 2007 study from Yale researchers showed that the sleep condition raises the risk of diabetes by two-and-a-half times.

Original Article Here

Great information on a very prevalent topic for so many people.  What else do you know of that has a link back to sleep.

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