Diabetes and Sleep Apnea: Understanding the Connection and Improving Blood Sugar Control

2023-10-25 12:02:50

Original source:Question 8 Online Health Consultation_[Dr. Huang Huilun]Blood sugar is always poorly controlled?Doctors remind you to find the cause from sleep

One day in the clinic, Mr. Tang, who suffers from type 2 diabetes, told me: “I have had three traffic accidents recently…”

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He also said that he became very sleepy during the day and was easily distracted. After evaluation, it was found that it may be related to his poor sleep condition at night. His family also said that he snored seriously while sleeping. Therefore, further sleep examination was conducted, and it was determined that he had obstructive sleep apnea.

Why is diabetes related to sleep apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea, which is clinically common, is more likely to occur in male, obese, older and other groups. There is a mutual influence between it and diabetes. Studies have also found that people with type 2 diabetes have a higher chance of developing obstructive sleep apnea; conversely, having obstructive sleep apnea also increases the incidence of diabetes.

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In addition, severe sleep apnea often affects blood sugar control and even aggravates diabetes. The reason for this is that sleep disruption and poor sleep caused by sleep apnea can overexcite the sympathetic nerves in the autonomic nervous system, and may also cause endocrine system disorders, increase oxidative stress, and increase inflammation. This in turn causes the problem of increased insulin resistance, which may increase the risk of diabetes and lead to poor blood sugar control.

How to confirm if you have sleep apnea?

If diabetics feel that their sleep quality is poor, they have difficulty concentrating during the day, or they snore seriously at night, they can find out the problem through the following methods:

1. Self-assessment: Fill in relevant questionnaires to assess the risk of sleep apnea, such as the currently commonly used STOP-BANG questionnaire.

2. Go to the outpatient clinic: Doctors from the otolaryngology department or sleep specialty clinic will help you evaluate relevant risk factors, such as body shape and whether there are any obstructions to the respiratory tract.

3. Do a sleep examination: Go to a hospital or institution with a sleep center to receive relevant examinations, such as brain waves, electrocardiogram, blood oxygen saturation concentration, etc.

What treatments are available for sleep apnea?

If sleep apnea is determined to be a problem, common ways to improve it include:

1. Lifestyle adjustment and disease control: The most important thing in this part is weight loss. It is also recommended that you try not to drink alcohol or take sedatives before going to bed. You can sleep on your side when sleeping. In addition, improving chronic respiratory problems (such as allergic rhinitis, nasal polyps, deviated nasal septum, etc.) will also be helpful.

2. Medical assistance: Depending on the severity of sleep apnea, common methods include: using a positive pressure respirator (CPAP) while sleeping, an intraoral device (anti-snoring braces), or surgical treatment.

At that time, Mr. Tang started using a positive pressure respirator following he was diagnosed with sleep apnea. As a result, not only the quality of sleep was improved, but blood sugar also began to improve significantly, and the drug control effect was better than before.

Therefore, if diabetic patients have a similar situation, it is recommended to check whether there is a problem with sleep apnea. If it can be improved, it will also be very helpful for blood sugar control!

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