Clinical Characteristics of Type 2 Diabetics Who are at High Risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been associated with insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. Recent reports have indicated that the majority of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are also having OSA.

The primary goal of the study is to assess the risk of OSA among T2D patients and its impact on T2D related control and complications.

A cross-sectional study for the adult patients with T2D who had a routine follow up visit from Jun 2013- Aug 2014 was asked to participate. We excluded patients with existed psychiatric illness and those with history of diagnosed OSA. To screen for OSA we used Berlin Questionnaire.

A total of 265 T2D patients were included in the study with a mean age of 57.2+12.5 years and long standing T2D. Around 53.2% were classified as high risk for OSA. Compared to those who are considered low risk for OSA, those who are high risk for OSA have higher BMI (p <0.001), higher mean SBP (p 0.002), less likely to be male (p 0.003), more likely to have hyperlipidemia (p 0.058), more likely have neuropathy (p 0.021), more likely to report sedentary lifestyle (p 0.046), and more likely to report low income (p 0.068).

High risk T2D patients for OSA tend to be older, have significantly higher BMI, systolic BP and tend to have significantly higher risk for neuropathy.