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Persistent unhealthy sleep patterns—whether insufficient or excessive—are strongly associated with a heightened risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study published in Diabetologia. This research, involving an international team of experts, sheds light on the impact of sleep health across a diverse group of adults, with a particular focus on low-income and middle- to older-age Black and white populations in the southeastern United States.
Dr. Kelsie Full, PhD, MPH, a behavioral epidemiologist and assistant professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, emphasized the importance of maintaining regular sleep schedules as a preventative measure against adverse cardiometabolic conditions. Full co-authored the study alongside Dr. Loren Lipworth, ScD, from Vanderbilt University, Dr. Qian Xiao, PhD, MPH, from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and Dr. Martin Rutter, MD, from the University of Manchester.
The study, which analyzed data from approximately 36,000 participants in the Southern Community Cohort Study, reveals that both insufficient sleep (fewer than seven hours per night) and excessive sleep (more than nine hours per night) are linked to increased diabetes risk. This is particularly significant given that previous research often focused on more homogeneous populations.
Dr. Xiao highlighted a key strength of the study: its longitudinal approach. Unlike previous research that assessed sleep patterns at a single point in time, this study tracked sleep duration across an average of five years. With 62% of participants identifying as Black, the research offers new insights into the sleep patterns of populations traditionally underrepresented in health studies.
Findings indicate that participants who experienced extreme fluctuations in their sleep duration had the highest risk of developing diabetes. Such variability has been previously associated with poorer glucose control and an increased risk of obesity and diabetes.
The researchers suggest that inconsistent sleep patterns may be a significant factor contributing to the racial and socioeconomic disparities observed in diabetes prevalence. While prolonged sleep duration alone may not directly cause diabetes, it could be indicative of other risk factors, such as diabetes-related fatigue.
The study also calls for further research into the social and environmental factors that disrupt healthy sleep, particularly in disadvantaged communities. Understanding these factors could help address racial and socioeconomic disparities in health outcomes.
In their concluding remarks, the authors advocate for intervention studies to determine whether improving sleep health could reduce health disparities in the United States. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, with the Southern Community Cohort Study receiving support from the National Cancer Institute of the NIH.
