Sleep Disordered Breathing & Co-Morbidity
Type II Diabetes
Diabetes

Sleep Disordered Breathing is associated with Type 2 Diabetes. Type 2 diabetic patients have a significant increased risk of atherosclerotic disease and cardiovascular mortality.

The main cause of OSA is obesity and therefore it is of no surprise that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is high amongst OSA sufferers1; and that the opposite is also true2. However, there is now evidence to suggest that OSA independently predisposes an individual to diabetes and that diabetes itself increases the risk of OSA 3. Furthermore, the presence of OSA in type 2 diabetics seems to impair glycemic control. Two recent observational studies have shown that continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) therapy, the accepted treatment for OSA which pumps pressurized air through the upper airway to hold it open during sleep by acting as a pneumatic splint, may improve glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes and OSA 4; 5. This could have important implications for the development of diabetic complications.

Whilst this evidence can not yet be considered conclusive, the potential importance of diagnosing and treating OSA in type 2 diabetic patients is clear.

  1. Reichmuth et al. AJRCCM  2005;172: 1590-1595.
  2. West et al. Thorax 2006; 61:945-50.
  3. Wilding et al.  Thorax 2006; 61:928-9.
  4. Babu et al. Arch Intern Med 2005;165:447-52.
  5. Hassaballa et al. Sleep Breath 2005;9:176-80.