Relationship and variation of diabetes related symptoms, sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine whether diabetes-related symptoms (e.g. fatigue, neuropathic pain, diabetes distress and depressive symptoms) were related to sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment in adults with type 2 diabetes while controlling for potential covariates. In people with type 2 diabetes, sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment are common and likely associated with diabetes-related symptoms. However, limited research has investigated the predictive ability of diabetes-related symptoms on sleep. A correlational, cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected at a large university in the Midwestern United States from September 2013-March 2014. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship of diabetes-related symptoms (fatigue, neuropathic pain, distress and depressive symptoms) to sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment. The instruments included Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System instruments, Diabetes Symptom Checklist and Diabetes Distress Scale. In this study of adults with type 2 diabetes (N=90; 52.2% female, mean age 57.4years), gender, A1C, neuropathic pain and fatigue were significantly related to sleep disturbance when age, diabetes duration, depressive symptoms and distress were controlled. Those variables collectively explained 52% of the variation in sleep disturbance. Fatigue was significantly associated with sleep-related impairment when the same covariates were controlled. Findings suggested that diabetes-related symptoms, including neuropathic pain and fatigue, are strongly related to sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment in adults with type 2 diabetes, underscoring the need to include detailed assessments of neuropathic pain and fatigue when evaluating sleep.