Women who sleep less at greater diabetes risk

Women who suffer from sleeping disorders are at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, new research warns.

Women who suffer from two or more sleep disorders such as difficulty in sleeping, frequent snoring and sleep apnea, are at an increasing risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, indicated the study.

The risk ranges from 47 percent for one sleep disorder to more than four times the risk for four different sleeping problems combined, the study revealed.

"Sleeping difficulty was significantly associated with Type 2 diabetes. This association was partially explained by associations with hypertension, body mass index (BMI) and depression symptoms, and was particularly strong when combined with other sleep disorders," said Yanping Li, researcher at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston in US.

The findings highlight the importance of good sleeping patterns and having enough sleep for preventing Type 2 diabetes, the researchers noted.

The study also provides evidence to clinical physicians and public health researchers for future diabetes prevention among a high-risk population with multiple sleep disorders, the research, published in Diabetologia, revealed.

The researchers analysed data from 133,353 women without diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer at baseline in two major epidemiological studies--the Nurses' Health Study (NHS, 2000-2010) and the NHSII (2001-2011).

A total of 6,407 cases of Type 2 diabetes developed during up to 10 years of follow-up.