Association between sleep health and glycemic variability in people with type 2 diabetes: An ecological momentary...

Glycemic variability (GV) is an important indicator for glycemic control. Identifying factors contributing to GV may support development of targeted interventions. Besides non-modifiable factors, sleep plays a role in glucose regulation. This study aimed to examine the association between multidimensional sleep health with GV in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

This study used a correlational design. Participants were recruited from a community hospital. They completed data collection for seven consecutive days in real-life setting. They were instructed to fill out sleep diaries and wear ActiGraphs for sleep health assessment, including sleep duration, efficiency, quality, timing, regularity, and daytime sleepiness. Continuous glucose monitors were used to measure GV, including standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), and mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (MAGE). 300 days of sleep-GV matched nocturnal data were used for analyses. Linear mixed-effect models (LMMs) and linear regression models were performed.

Participants aged 60.0 years and 29 were females (total N = 52). Compared to objective total sleep time (TST) of 6-8h, those with TST≥8h had significantly higher SD, CV, and MAGE. Similarly, those with subjective TST≥8h had significantly higher CV and MAGE. Both longer objective and subjective wake after sleep onset was associated with higher SD, CV, and MAGE. Longer objective SD of TST was associated with higher SD, CV, and MAGE.

This study highlights the importance of maintaining consolidated and regular sleep, appropriate sleep duration, and regular sleep in achieving optimal glucose control.