Link Between Sleep Apnea and Diabetes Confirmed

A new study of more than 8,500 Canadian patients has demonstrated a link between the development of diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

It confirms earlier evidence of such a relationship from smaller studies with shorter follow-up periods.

Half of Hypertensive Pregnant Women Who Snore may be Suffering from Sleep Apnea
A new study has found that 50% of hypertensive pregnant women who snore may actually be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea

"Our study, with a larger sample size and a median follow-up of 67 months was able to address some of the limitations of earlier studies on the connection between OSA and diabetes," lead author Tetyana Kendzerska, MD, PhD, of the University of Toronto said.

"We found that among patients with OSA, the initial severity of the disease predicted the subsequent risk for incident diabetes," Kendzerska said.

The study included 8,678 adults with suspected OSA without diabetes at baseline who underwent a diagnostic sleep study between 1994 and 2010 and were followed through May 2011 using provincial health administrative data to examine the occurrence of diabetes.

Novel Device Treats Central Sleep Apnea in Heart Failure Patients
A novel device implanted under the skin like a pacemaker successfully in heart failure patients helps treating central sleep apnoea (CSA).

Sleep apnea severity was assessed with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), which indicates severity based on the number of apneas (complete cessation of airflow) and hypopneas (partial cessation of airflow) per hour of sleep. Patients were classified as not having OSA, or having mild, moderate or severe OSA.

During follow-up, 1,017 (11.7 percent) patients developed diabetes.

Link Between Sleep Apnea and Acute Respiratory Failure Identified
Sleep apnea is common among acute respiratory failure survivors, reveals study presented at the 2014 American Thoracic Society International Conference.

In analyses adjusting for known risk factors for diabetes, including age, sex, body mass index, neck circumference, smoking, income status and comorbidities at baseline, patients with an AHI greater than 30 had a 30 percent higher risk of developing diabetes than those with an AHI less than 5.

Patients with mild or moderate OSA had a 23 percent increased risk of developing diabetes.

US Approves New Implant to Ward Off Sleep Apnea
US regulators have approved a first-of-its-kind implant that can help ward off moderate to severe sleep apnea. It is a chronic disorder which affects up to 18 million Americans.

Other risk factors for diabetes included AHI during rapid eye movement sleep and measures of the physiologic consequences of OSA, including oxygen desaturation, sleep deprivation and activation of the sympathetic nervous system, as indicated by a higher mean heart rate during sleep.

The findings were published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Source-ANI