Health
Too much, too little sleep linked to type 2 diabetes
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 17, 2006
Men who sleep more than eight hours a night have three times the risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who sleep about seven hours. Those who sleep only five or six hours a night have double the risk, according to a study published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.
Researchers with Yale University School of Medicine in Connecticut analyzed data from more than 1,700 men enrolled in the Massachusetts Male Aging Study from 1987 to 2004. Even after controlling for age, hypertension, tobacco use, self-rated health status, education and waist circumference, the risk remained.
Studies have linked short-term sleep deprivation to significant changes in metabolic and endocrine function, and the authors suggest sleep duration might be an independent risk factor for this disease over the long term.
"Although lifestyle changes such as weight loss and increasing physical activity are the cornerstone of diabetes prevention, efforts are needed to better understand other determinants of the disease and to develop additional prevention strategies," the authors wrote.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/04/17/hlbf0417.htm.
