Association between sleep duration and obesity in patients with type 2 diabetes: A longitudinal study

Obesity is prevalent in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and negatively impacts diabetes outcomes. While studies in the general population have established a link between sleep duration and obesity, this relationship in T2D remains unclear.

To assess the association between sleep duration and adiposity in patients with T2D.

This prospective study of adults enrolled in the SLEEP T2D study from 13 UK NHS Trusts. Sleep duration was self-reported using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and categorized as short (≤ 6 h/ night), long (> 9 h/night) or (normal > 6-9 h/night). Adiposity was assessed using body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.

Among 229 patients (61% male, mean age 61.2 ( $$ 11.7) years, 63.7% with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²). At baseline, sleep duration negatively correlated with BMI (r = -0.27, p < 0.001) and waist circumference (r = -0.25, p = 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders in different models, short sleep duration was associated with higher BMI (β = -1.01; p = 0.006) and waist circumference (β = -1.91; p = 0.01). Following a median follow-up of 26.5 months, short sleep at baseline was associated with a 5% or more gain in BMI (adjusted OR 10.03; 95% CI 1.55-64.84; p = 0.01).

Short sleep duration is associated with higher adiposity measures (BMI and waist circumference) and weight gain in patients with T2D. Addressing sleep duration may reduce the burden of obesity in T2D, and future studies in this area are warranted.