Both Limited and Excess Sleep May Raise Diabetes Risk in Men

Study is the first to show opposite effects of lost sleep in healthy men and women

Newswise, June 30, 2016—Men who sleep either fewer or more hours than average may face a greater risk of developing diabetes, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

More than 29 million people nationwide have diabetes, according to the Endocrine Society’sEndocrine Facts and Figures Report. 

During the last 50 years, the average self-reported sleep duration for individuals has decreased by 1.5 to 2 hours, according to the study’s senior author, Femke Rutters, PhD, of the VU Medical Centre in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The prevalence of diabetes has doubled in the same time period.

“In a group of nearly 800 healthy people, we observed sex-specific relationships between sleep duration and glucose metabolism,” said Rutters.

“In men, sleeping too much or too little was related to less responsiveness of the cells in the body to insulin, reducing glucose uptake and thus increasing the risk of developing diabetes in the future. In women, no such association was observed.”

The cross-sectional study examined the sleep duration and diabetes risk factors in 788 people. The researchers analyzed a subset of participants in the European Relationship between Insulin Sensitivity and Cardiovascular Disease (EGIR-RISC) study, who were healthy adults ranging in age from 30 to 60 years old. Study participants were recruited from 19 study centers in 14 European countries.

Researchers measured the participants’ sleep and physical activity using a single-axis accelerometer, a device to track movement.

To assess the risk for diabetes, researchers used a device called a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp to measure how effectively the body used the hormone insulin, which processes sugar in the bloodstream.

The study found that men who slept the least and the most were more likely to have an impaired ability to process sugar compared to men who slept an average amount, about seven hours. The men at either end of the spectrum had higher blood sugar levels than men who got the average amount of sleep.

Women who slept less or more than average, however, were more responsive to the hormone insulin than women who slept the average amount.

They also had enhanced function of beta cells – the cells in the pancreas that produce the hormone insulin. This suggests lost sleep may not put women at increased risk of developing diabetes.

The study is the first to show opposite effects of lost sleep on diabetes risk in men and women.

The authors theorized this may be a result of the study population being made up of healthy individuals, rather than those at risk of developing diabetes. The researchers also measured insulin sensitivity and sleep with more sensitive devices than past studies.

“Even when you are healthy, sleeping too much or too little can have detrimental effects on your health,” Rutters said. “This research shows how important sleep is to a key aspect of health – glucose metabolism.”

Diabetes Raises Risk of Heart Attack Death by 50 Percent

Newswise, June 24, 2016 — Having diabetes increases the risk of dying from the effects of a heart attack by around 50 per cent, according to a widespread study.

Researchers at the University of Leeds tracked 700,000 people who had been admitted to hospital with a heart attack between January 2003 and June 2013.

Of these, 121,000 had diabetes.

After stripping out the effects of age, sex, any other illnesses and differences in the emergency medical treatment received, the team found stark differences in survival rates.

People with diabetes were 56 per cent more likely to have died if they had experienced a ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) heart attack - in which the coronary artery is completely blocked - than those without the condition.

They were 39 per cent more likely to have died if they had a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) heart attack - in which the artery is partially blocked - than those without diabetes.

Lead researcher Dr Chris Gale, Consultant Cardiologist and Associate Professor in the university's School of Medicine, said: "These results provide robust evidence that diabetes is a significant long-term population burden among patients who have had a heart attack.

"Although these days people are more likely than ever to survive a heart attack, we need to place greater focus on the long-term effects of diabetes in heart attack survivors.

"The partnership between cardiologists, GPs and diabetologists needs to be strengthened and we need to make sure we are using established medications as effectively as possible among high-risk individuals."

He added that the next step in their research would be finding out exactly what it is about having diabetes that increases the risk of death following heart attack.

Dr Mike Knapton, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the study said: "We knew that following a heart attack, you are less likely to survive if you also have diabetes.

"However, we did not know if this observation was due to having diabetes or having other conditions which are commonly seen in people with diabetes.

"This paper is the first to conclusively show that the adverse effect on survival is linked to having diabetes, rather than other conditions people with diabetes may suffer from.

"This research highlights the need to find new ways to prevent coronary heart disease in people with diabetes and develop new treatments to improve survival after a heart attack.

"The British Heart Foundation is committed to funding research in this area.

"We are currently funding researchers in Leeds to find new ways of keeping blood vessels healthy in people with diabetes in the fight for every heartbeat."

Dr Anna Morris, Head of Research Funding at Diabetes UK, said: "While researchers tackle this issue, we know that managing diabetes effectively can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

"This includes eating healthily, keeping active and taking medications as prescribed by your doctor.

"It's essential that people with diabetes get the support they need to do this effectively, and that we continue to fund research across the UK aimed at preventing the onset of complications in the first place."

The study is published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.