Sleep quality, autonomic dysfunction and renal function in diabetic patients with pre-CKD phase

Diabetes has been established as a strong risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Sleep apnea, poor sleep quality (PSQ), and autonomic imbalance are also considered to be potential risk factors for decline in renal function, though no known study has examined their integrated predictive value in diabetic and non-diabetic patients without CKD. The present cohort consisted of 754 serial patients (diabetes; n = 231, non-diabetes; n = 523) without CKD registered in the Hyogo Sleep Cardio-Autonomic Atherosclerosis (HSCAA) study. Patients underwent examinations to determine respiratory event index and objective sleep quality using actigraphy, as well as heart rate variability (HRV). Renal outcome was defined as a decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate to less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m² for more than 3 months. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that diabetic patients with PSQ or low HRV, but not sleep apnea, had a significantly increased risk for renal outcome. Furthermore, Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that PSQ was significantly associated with elevated risk of renal outcome (HR: 2.57; 95% CI: 1.01-6.53, p = 0.045) independent of sleep apnea and classical risk factors. Low HRV tended to be, but not significantly (p = 0.065), associated with the outcome. In non-diabetic patients, PSQ was also significantly and independently associated with renal outcome, whereas sleep apnea and low HRV were not. In conclusion, PSQ and low HRV appear to be important predictors of decline in renal function in diabetic patients without CKD.