Do children, adolescents, and young adults with type 1 diabetes have increased prevalence of sleep disorders?

Background: Sleep has been shown to impact glucose regulation, and may be altered in persons with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Objective: To assess sleep characteristics in T1D patients and the possible association between sleep disturbances and diabetes-related variables.

Subjects And Methods: In a cross-sectional study in 154 young patients with T1D and 154 age-range-matched nondiabetic controls subjective sleep characteristics were assessed using validated questionnaires: Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC), Adolescent Sleep-Wake Scale (ASWS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Clinical and disease-related variables were obtained from medical charts.

Results: Sleep disorders were frequent in all age groups, with no significant difference in prevalence or total scores of the SDSC, ASWS, PSQI, or ESS between the patients and the controls. In T1D children, SDSC score was significantly higher in those using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) vs glucose meters (P = .042). The score of disorders related to "initiating and maintaining sleep" was significantly higher in those treated with pumps vs patients treated with injections (P = .014), in those using CGM vs glucose meters (P = .02), and in those with nocturnal hypoglycemia vs those without (P = .023). The percentage of children with excessive daytime sleepiness was significantly lower in patients vs controls (P = .035). No significant differences were found in the other two age groups.

Conclusions/interpretation: The prevalence of sleep disorders among most of the young T1D patients was no higher than in the nondiabetic population. Studies using objective sleep measures are warranted to further assess sleep quality in T1D patients.