To the many problems associated with lack of sleep —
moodiness, memory problems, difficulty concentrating — add the risk of
developing diabetes.

A study from the University at Buffalo shows that people who sleep less
than six hours a night during the work-week are 4.5 times more likely
to have elevated levels of blood sugar than those who slumber 6-8
hours.

The findings are being presented yesterday at the American Heart
Association’s 49th annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease
Epidemiology and Prevention.

“Impaired fasting glucose — a reading higher than 100 — is known as
pre-diabetes, which is a precursor to type 2 diabetes,” said Lisa
Rafalson, Ph.D., a National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellow in the
UB Department of Family Medicine and first author on the study.

“In fact, about 25 percent of people who have impaired fasting glucose
will at some point develop type 2 diabetes, which is associated with
many complications, including heart disease and premature death.”
Rafalson also is a research assistant professor is UB’s Department of
Social and Preventive Medicine.

Rafalson’s findings were based on data from an average six-year
follow-up of participants who initially took part in the Western New
York Health Study, conducted from 1996-2001. The 91 persons with
normal fasting glucose levels at baseline who developed pre-diabetes by
their follow-up exam were matched to persons from the study who had
maintained normal glucose levels who served as controls.

Participants were placed into three groups based on the average daily
amount of sleep they reported receiving from Sunday through Thursday:
short-sleepers — those who reported less than 6 hours of sleep
nightly; long-sleepers, who reported sleeping more than eight hours
nightly; and a reference group who slept 6-8 hours a night.

Results showed that “short-sleepers” had a significantly increased risk
of progressing from normal glucose levels to pre-diabetes, compared to
those who slept 6-8 hours nightly. Sleeping an average of more than 8
hours a night had no significant effect on glucose levels, results
showed.

“This study supports growing evidence of the association of inadequate
sleep with adverse health issues,” said Rafalson. She suggested that
during annual “well” visits, physicians should discuss sleep habits
with their patients, along with diet and exercise and other lifestyle
issues that are important to long-term health.

“Genetic susceptibility is always a possible explanation for this
finding,” Rafalson noted, “but it is more likely that pathways
involving hormones and the nervous system are involved in the
impaired-sleep/fasting glucose association.

“We hope our findings will generate more research into this complex
relationship between sleep and illness,” she said.

Additional authors on the study are Richard P. Donahue, Ph.D., M.P.H.;
Michael LaMonte, Ph.D., M.P.H.; Joan Dorn, Ph.D.; Maurizio Trevisan,
M.D., M.S.; Saverio Stranges, M.D., Ph.D.; and Jacek Dmochowski, Ph.D.
All authors are current or former members of the Department of Social
and Preventive Medicine, UB School of Public Health and Health
Professions.

Trevisan now heads the University of Nevada Health Sciences System;
Stranges is affiliated with the Clinical Sciences Research Institute,
Warwick Medical School, Coventry, UK, and Dmochowski is affiliated with
the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public
university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York
system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than
28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300
undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in
1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of
American Universities.

University at Buffalo
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