Sleep Characteristics, Mental Health, and Diabetes Risk: A Prospective Study of U.S. Military Service Members in the Millennium Cohort Study

Abstract

Objective. Research has suggested that a higher risk of type 2 diabetes associated with sleep characteristics exists. However, studies have not thoroughly assessed the potential confounding effects of mental health conditions associated with alterations in sleep. Research Design and Methods. We prospectively assessed the association between sleep characteristics and self-reported incident diabetes among Millennium Cohort Study participants prospectively followed over a 6-year time period. Surveys are administered approximately every 3 years and collect self-reported data on demographics, height, weight, lifestyle, features of military service, sleep, clinician-diagnosed diabetes, and mental health conditions assessed by the PRIME-MD Patient Health Questionnaire and the PTSD Checklist Civilian Version. Statistical methods for longitudinal data were used for data analysis. Results. We studied 47,093 participants (mean 34.9 years of age; mean BMI 26.0 kg/m2; 25.6% female). During 6 years of followup, 871 incident diabetes cases occurred (annual incidence 3.6/1,000 person-years). In univariate analyses, incident diabetes was significantly more likely among participants with self-reported trouble sleeping, sleep duration ,6 h, and sleep apnea. Participants reporting incident diabetes were also significantly older, of nonwhite race, of higher BMI, less likely to have been deployed, and more likely to have reported baseline symptoms of panic, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression. After adjusting for covariates, trouble sleeping (odds ratio 1.21 [95% CI 1.03 1.42]) and sleep apnea (1.78 [1.39 2.28]) were significantly and independently related to incident diabetes. Conclusions. Trouble sleeping and sleep apnea predict diabetes risk independent of mental health conditions and other diabetes risk factors.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2013
Accession Number
ADA618158

Entities

People

  • Amber D. Seelig
  • Besa Smith
  • Edward J. Boyko
  • Isabel Gomez Jacobson
  • Nancy F Crum-Cianflone
  • Tomoko I. Hooper
  • Tyler Clain Smith

Organizations

  • Naval Health Research Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Body Weight
  • Data Analysis
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Veterans Affairs
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Health
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Disorders
  • Mental Health
  • Risk Factors
  • Surveys
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Type 2 Diabetes

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

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