Monday, September 21, 2009

Type 2 diabetes and OSA

Last Wednesday the 16th of September I was invited to do a presentation for the South East SA Diabetes Educators Seminar in Mount Gambier. The topic was `Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Type 2 Diabetes’ which proved to be a very interesting area to explore.

I thought it would be useful to share some interesting (and perhaps surprising) facts about these two conditions from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Taskforce on Epidemiology and Prevention Consensus Statement on Sleep Apnoea and Type 2 Diabetes.

It has been estimated that between 5-7 % of the population have OSA, but it is largely undiagnosed. Those diagnosed with Type 2 DM is also expected to rise significantly into the future.

“Research shows that it is likely in people with type 2 diabetes that more than 50% suffer from some form of sleep disorder such as sleep apnea,”
“At the same time, up to 40% of people diagnosed with sleep apnea have diabetes and they have significantly greater risk of developing diabetes compared to those that don’t suffer from the sleep disorder.”
Professor Paul Zimmet AO MD PhD FRACP FRCP FDECo Chair of the IDF working group Director Emeritus and Director of International Research, Baker DI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne Australia

OSA has been found to be associated with insulin resistance independent of obesity (Punjabi, et al ASRCCM, 2002)

Those with OSA and Type 2 DM are at increased risk of developing other conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity just to name a few.

More research needs to be done to determine the exact physiological pathways which link these conditions and the effects of treatment. However, the most important message for health professionals is to be aware of this, and screen those with one condition for the other.

Lisa

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