A post on Texas news site The Monitor discusses the influence of sleep on the health of patients with diabetes.
Total treatment of diabetes includes more than the traditional use of finger pricks and insulin injections. We have found that about half of those who suffer from Type 2 diabetes suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, independent of obesity, as was previously unknown. This statistic is even more alarming when we note that 30 percent of the population in the Rio Grande Valley suffers from diabetes an average two to three times higher than that found in the rest of the United States. Research shows that the existence of sleep apnea in diabetics creates insulin resistance and increased fasting glucose without regard to whether the patient also suffers from obesity. That is, if you suffer from sleep apnea, and it remains untreated the insulin that is vital to your quality of life, may not be working to its full potential. Further, the more severe the sleep apnea, the greater the degree of increased resistance to insulin and fasting glucose we find in your body. This validates the idea that a correlation exists between diabetes and sleep apnea. This correlation requires that treatment for diabetes be done in combination with treatment for sleep apnea so as to achieve the best results.
Read the rest at www.themonitor.com
