New study indicates sleep apnea linked to diabetes

Januvia users who are also experiencing difficulty sleeping might want to wake up to the facts of the chance of diabetes. Recent research has indicated that those with sleep apnea, a respiratory disorder that occurs while sleeping, could also potentially be at risk for diabetes development.

Researchers from the University of Toronto conducted one of the largest studies to date regarding the connection between sleep apnea and diabetes to see whether or not obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) had any role in diabetes progression. The research looked at who were suspected to have OSA but never had been diagnosed with diabetes, participated in a sleep study that took place from 1994 to 2010 to examine if there was a correlation between the two disorders.

The professors were able to calculate the severity of a patient's sleep apnea by assessing apnea rates on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). During the course of the examination process, 11.7 percent of the patients with sleep apnea eventually developed diabetes, with subjects who were found to have a severe rates on the AHI possessing a 30 percent greater risk of developing diabetes. Those who were found to have relatively mild conditions of apnea-hypopnea index had between a 23 percent higher risk of the disease.

Dr. Tetyana Kendzerska, a professor at the University of Toronto and lead author of the study, felt that a number of common symptoms that are associated with sleep apnea are the primary indicators of how someone can contract diabetes.

"After adjusting for other potential causes, we were able to demonstrate a significant association between OSA severity and the risk of developing diabetes," Kendzerska said in a statement. "Our findings that prolonged oxygen desaturation, shorter sleep time and higher heart rate were associated with diabetes are consistent with the pathophysiological mechanisms thought to underlie the relationship between OSA and diabetes."

Understanding sleep apnea
There are essentially three variations of sleep apnea, including:

• obstructive: when airways to the throat are blocked, the most common type.
• central: involves miscommunication between the brain and muscles that control breathing.
• complex: a combination of the other two types of sleep apnea.

If you feel you are at risk for sleep apnea, contact a doctor today to see if you could also have a chance of developing diabetes. Januvia remains a trusted prescription that can help relieve any diabetic symptoms you might be enduring.