Sleep Apnea and Diabetes
Reported February 19, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ivanhoe Newswire) — About 12 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea. About 23 million have diabetes. There’s no cure for either, and doctors believe having one could affect your chances of having the other.
A comfy bed, a fluffy pillow and … a CPAP? Tom Tontana slips on his CPAP machine every night just to get a good solid sleep.
“My sleep study showed I would stop breathing anywhere from 57 to 72 times an hour,” Fontana told Ivanhoe.
Sometimes, he would stop breathing for as long as 30 seconds. Fontana suffers from obstructive sleep apnea.
“If you stop breathing that many times during the night over a long period of time, who knows what kind of damage it will do,” Fontana said.
Depriving your body of oxygen can cause high blood pressure, heart attacks and stroke, and now researchers at Ohio State University have linked sleep apnea to type 2 diabetes.
“Sleep apnea worsens glucose control and worsens the body’s responsiveness to insulin,” Rami Khayat, M.D., a sleep expert at Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, told Ivanhoe.
Oxygen levels fluctuate throughout the night, causing fat cells to become resistant to insulin, which may cause glucose levels to rise. This can lead to diabetes and other cardiovascular problems.
“Every time their oxygen level drops, their blood pressure goes up,” Dr. Khayat said. “The adrenaline surges in the body. The heart starts working hard against the elevated blood pressure.”
Lou Flocken knows the health risks associated with his sleep problems.
“I would have thought I was sleeping OK, except I knew that I snored,” Flocken, who also suffers from sleep apnea, told Ivanhoe.
Flocken has high blood pressure. Using a CPAP along with medication, his blood pressure has dropped from 150 over 100 to 120 over 80.
“Getting a quality night’s sleep is one of the things I’ve been focusing on to make sure I stay healthy into the future,” Flocken said.
A study at UCLA found adults who suffer from sleep apnea are three-times more likely to have diabetes. The most common sign of sleep apnea is snoring and daytime sleepiness. Also, if you wake up several times during the night, you might want to be tested for sleep apnea.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:
Sherri L. Kirk
The Ohio State University Center Media Relations
Columbus, OH
(614) 293-3737
Sherri.kirk@osumc.edu