Obstructive sleep apnea is a predictor of abnormal glucose metabolism in chronically sleep deprived obese adults.

Context: Sleep abnormalities, including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), have been associated with insulin resistance.

Objective: To determine the relationship between sleep, including OSA, and glucose parameters in a prospectively assembled cohort of chronically sleep-deprived obese subjects.

Design: Cross-sectional evaluation of a prospective cohort study.

Setting: Tertiary Referral Research Clinical Center.

Main Outcome Measures: Sleep duration and quality assessed by actigraphy, sleep diaries and questionnaires, OSA determined by a portable device; glucose metabolism assessed by oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT), and HbA1c concentrations in 96 obese individuals reporting sleeping less than 6.5 h on a regular basis.

Results: Sixty % of subjects had an abnormal respiratory disturbance index (RDI≥5) and 44% of these subjects had abnormal oGTT results. Severity of OSA as assessed by RDI score was associated with fasting glucose (R = 0.325, p = 0.001) and fasting insulin levels (ρ = 0.217, p = 0.033). Subjects with moderate to severe OSA (RDI>15) had higher glucose concentrations at 120 min than those without OSA (RDI<5) (p = 0.017). Subjects with OSA also had significantly higher concentrations of plasma ACTH (p = 0.009). Several pro-inflammatory cytokines were higher in subjects with OSA (p<0.050). CRP levels were elevated in this sample, suggesting increased cardiovascular risk.

Conclusions: OSA is associated with impaired glucose metabolism in obese, sleep deprived individuals. Since sleep apnea is common and frequently undiagnosed, health care providers should be aware of its occurrence and associated risks.

Trial Registration: This study was conducted under the NIDDK protocol 06-DK-0036 and is listed in ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00261898.