Association of sleep and glycaemic status with all-cause mortality: a prospective cohort study

Suboptimal sleep and diabetes are major contributors to mortality. However, whether sleep patterns differentially affect mortality across glycaemic statuses remains unclear. This study examined associations of sleep patterns (sleep duration and sleep disorders) with all-cause mortality among individuals with normoglycaemia, prediabetes, and diabetes.

Data were obtained from the Taiwan MJ cohort, including 534 238 participants enrolled between 1996 and 2022. Sleep duration ('less than 6 hours', '6-8 hours', 'more than 8 hours') and sleep disorders (yes/no) were assessed via standardised questionnaires. Glycaemic status was classified as normoglycaemia, prediabetes, or diabetes. Mortality data were obtained from the Taiwan Death Registry. Cox proportional hazards regression models were employed to evaluate the association between sleep patterns and the risk of all-cause mortality.

The study included 363 863 participants with normoglycaemia, 144 602 with prediabetes, and 25 773 with diabetes. Over a median follow-up period of 19 years, 52 208 deaths were recorded. Compared with those who slept 6-8 hours, normoglycaemia individuals who slept less than 6 hours had a higher risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.05; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02-1.08) and those who slept more than eight hours had a higher risk of all-cause mortality across all glycaemic groups: normoglycaemia (HR = 1.19; 95% CI = 1.15-1.24), prediabetes (HR = 1.24; 95% CI = 1.19-1.30), and diabetes (HR = 1.29; 95% CI = 1.22-1.36). Sleep disorders were also associated with increased mortality among individuals with prediabetes (HR = 1.04; 95% CI = 1.01-1.07) and diabetes (HR = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.02-1.11).

Long sleep durations and sleep disorders were associated with increased mortality, especially among individuals with impaired glucose regulation while short sleep duration was discovered to associate with increased risk of mortality in people with normoglycaemia. These findings highlight the potential role of sleep assessment in risk stratification, although the observational nature of the study limits causal inference.