Abstract
Previous small-scale studies have found that oral antidiabetic therapy is associated with sleep difficulties among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Here, we used data from 11 806 T2D patients from the UK Biobank baseline investigation to examine the association of oral antidiabetic therapy with self-reported difficulty falling and staying asleep and daily sleep duration. As shown by logistic regression adjusted for, e.g., age, T2D duration, and HbA1c, patients on non-metformin therapy (N=815; 86% were treated with sulphonylureas) had a 1.24-fold higher odds ratio of reporting regular difficulty falling and staying asleep at night compared to those without antidiabetic medication use (N=5 366, P<0.05) or those on metformin monotherapy (N=5 625, P<0.05). Non-metformin patients reported about 8 to 10 minutes longer daily sleep duration than the other groups (P<0.05). We did not find significant differences in sleep outcomes between untreated and metformin patients. Our findings suggest that non-metformin therapy may result in sleep initiation and maintenance difficulties, accompanied by a small but significant sleep extension. The results of the present study must be replicated in future studies using objective measures of sleep duration and validated questionnaires for insomnia. Considering that most T2D patients utilize multiple therapies to manage their glycemic control in the long term, it may also be worth investigating possible interactions of antidiabetic drugs on sleep.
Highlights
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients often complain about sleep difficulties [1]
According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders criteria [3], having trouble falling asleep at night and waking up in the middle of the night constitute key insomnia symptoms
We used cross-sectional data from 11 806 T2D patients to determine whether the ability to initiate or maintain sleep and habitual sleep duration would vary by the type of oral antidiabetic agent used
Summary
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients often complain about sleep difficulties [1]. About 77% regularly report insomnia symptoms, such as difficulty falling and staying asleep [2]. As suggested by previous studies, the type of oral antidiabetic agent used to prevent hyperglycemia may account for sleep difficulties among. Side effects caused by oral antidiabetic therapy may lead to sleep difficulties, primarily if occurring during sleep. We wanted to examine the association of oral antidiabetics with sleep among T2D patients from the UK Biobank. We used cross-sectional data from 11 806 T2D patients to determine whether the ability to initiate or maintain sleep and habitual sleep duration would vary by the type of oral antidiabetic agent used
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