Sleep Disturbance among Type II Diabetic Patients and Influence of Glycemic Control

Background: Experimental and observational studies have indicated that poor sleep quantity and quality are associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases including insulin resistance. Additionally, sleep disorders have been reported to aggravate diabetes due to decreased glucose metabolism and elevated cortisol levels as well as it can increase the risk for the development of diabetes. Objectives: To assess the sleep quality and its determinants and impact on glycemic control of type II diabetic patients. Methods: A cross sectional study was adopted among a representative sample of patients diagnosed with type II Diabetes seen in Prince Mansour Military Hospital Diabetic Center in Taif throughout the study period (March-July 2021). A self-administered questionnaire was utilized in the present study including 5 main parts: demographic data of the patients, medical and social history, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess the subjective sleep quality, weight and height measurements and the most recent glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level. Results: The study included 270 type II diabetic patients out of a targeted 282 with a response rate of 95.7%. Most of them aged either between 51 and 60 years (34.8%) or over 60 years (42%). Females represent 63% of them. Majority of patients (87.8%) had HbA1c ≥ 7%, indicating uncontrolled blood glucose levels. Overall, poor sleep quality, based on PSQI was observed among 41.1% of type II diabetic patients. Results of multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that compared to patients whose income was lower than 5000 SR/month, those with income of 50,001 - 1000 and >15,000 SR/month were at lower significant risk for having poor sleep (Adjusted odds ratio “AOR” = 0.44, 95% confidence interval “CI” = 0.22 - 0.86, p = 0.016 and AOR = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.06 - 0.77, p = 0.019; respectively). Opposed to diabetic patients with a duration of less than one year of DM, those with a duration exceeding 10 years were at almost 6-folds higher risk for poor sleep quality (AOR = 6.39, 95% CI = 1.12 - 36.43, p = 0.037). Patients with a history of social stressors were at a higher significant risk for poor sleep quality compared to those without such a history (AOR = 4.99, 95% CI = 1.71 - 14.67, p = 0.003). Conclusion: A considerable proportion of type II diabetic patients attending the diabetic center, Prince Manasour Military hospital in Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed poor sleep quality. However, there was no association between glycemic control level and poor sleep quality.