New research highlights the importance of sleep health in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) among women with a history of gestational diabetes (GD). The study, published in JAMA, suggests that improving sleep duration and quality could help prevent the progression from GD to T2D, a condition that significantly raises the risk of long-term health issues.
Women with a history of GD are at a higher risk of developing T2D. Despite the well-established link between sleep and cardiometabolic health, research on how sleep affects the transition from GD to T2D has been limited. To address this gap, researchers conducted a cohort study using data from the Nurses’ Health Study II, which began in 1989 and includes over 116,000 female nurses. A subset of women who had experienced GD was followed up through June 2021.
Sleep characteristics were first assessed in 2001, and data was analyzed from November 2023 to August 2024. The study specifically looked at how sleep duration and quality influenced the risk of T2D and biomarkers related to glucose metabolism in this high-risk population. Physician-diagnosed cases of T2D were tracked biennially through questionnaires.
Over the course of 42,155 person-years of follow-up, involving 2,891 women with a history of GD (average age of 45.3 years), 563 women (19.5%) developed T2D. The study found that women who snored occasionally or regularly were at a significantly higher risk of developing T2D compared to those who rarely snored. The hazard ratios (HRs) were 1.54 (95% CI, 1.18-2.02) for occasional snoring and 1.61 (95% CI, 1.21-2.13) for regular snoring.
Additionally, women who slept less than six hours per day had a 32% higher risk of developing T2D compared to those who slept 7-8 hours per day (HR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.06-1.64). Notably, those who both snored regularly and slept fewer than six hours a day faced the highest risk. More frequent snoring was also linked to higher levels of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), C-peptide, and insulin, indicating impaired glucose metabolism.
These findings suggest that improving sleep health—by increasing sleep duration and addressing snoring—could be an important strategy in reducing the risk of T2D for women with a history of GD. As this population is already at higher risk for T2D, focusing on sleep health may provide a crucial preventive measure to lower diabetes incidence and improve long-term health outcomes.
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