Short Sleep Duration Linked to Increased Risk for Developing T2D

THURSDAY, March 7, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Habitual short sleep duration is associated with an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to a study published online March 5 in JAMA Network Open.

Diana Aline Nôga, Ph.D., from Uppsala University in Sweden, and colleagues examined the associations of type of diet and duration of sleep with T2D development in a cohort study. A total of 247,867 participants were categorized into four sleep duration groups: normal, and mild-, moderate-, and extreme-short (seven to eight, six, five, and three to four hours per day, respectively).

The researchers found that 3.2 percent of the participants were diagnosed with T2D during follow-up. Individuals with five hours or less of daily sleep had a significant increase in the risk for T2D after adjustment for confounding variables, with adjusted hazard ratios of 1.16 and 1.41 for individuals sleeping five hours and three to four hours per day, respectively, compared with those with normal sleep duration. The risk for T2D was reduced for individuals with the healthiest dietary patterns (hazard ratio, 0.75). Even for individuals following a healthy diet, the association between short sleep duration and an increased risk for T2D persisted; no multiplicative interaction was seen between sleep duration and healthy diet score.

"This cohort study did not yield compelling evidence to support the notion that maintaining a diet characterized by a low consumption of red meat and processed meat products and a high intake of fruits, vegetables, and fish can sufficiently mitigate the risk of developing T2D associated with habitual short sleep duration," the authors write.

One author disclosed receipt of a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

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