Long-Term Trajectories of Sleep Duration Are Associated With Incident Diabetes in Middle-to-Older-Aged Black and White Americans

Authors

Qian Xiao
Kelsie M Full
Martin K Rutter
Loren Lipworth

Publication Date

9-1-2024

Journal

Diabetologia

Abstract

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Both short and long sleep durations have been linked to higher diabetes risk. However, sleep duration may vary over time, and there has been limited research focusing on individual sleep trajectories and diabetes risk. There are substantial racial disparities in both sleep health and diabetes risk in the USA. Thus, it is important to understand the role of suboptimal sleep patterns in diabetes risk in different racial groups.

METHODS: We assessed long-term trajectories of sleep duration and incident diabetes in 22,285 Black adults (mean age ± SD, 51.1 ± 8.2 years; 64.8% women) and 13,737 White adults (mean age ± SD, 54.4 ± 9.0 years; 63.8% women) enrolled in the Southern Community Cohort Study. Nine sleep trajectories were derived based on self-reported sleep duration at baseline and after a mean of 5 years of follow-up: normal-normal (reference), short-normal, normal-short, short-short, long-normal, normal-long, long-long, long-short and short-long. Diabetes was reported using a validated questionnaire. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression was used to determine relationships between sleep trajectories and incident diabetes.

RESULTS: When compared with the normal-normal trajectory, suboptimal sleep trajectories were associated with higher likelihoods of developing diabetes (OR; 95% CI: short-normal 1.19; 1.09, 1.31; normal-short 1.14; 1.02, 1.27; short-short 1.17; 1.07, 1.28; long-normal 1.13; 0.98, 1.30; normal-long 1.16; 1.00, 1.34; long-long 1.23; 1.02, 1.48; long-short 1.45; 1.19, 1.77; short-long 1.51; 1.28, 1.77). Stratified analyses by race and socioeconomic status (i.e. education and household income) showed that most suboptimal sleep trajectories were consistently associated with incident diabetes in all sociodemographic subgroups. We also noted potential interaction with race and education for several sleep trajectories (i.e. short-long and normal-short with race; long-long and short-short with education).

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Adults with suboptimal sleep duration trajectories are more likely to develop incident diabetes. Future research is needed to study how sociodemographic factors modulate this relationship.

Keywords

Adult, Aged, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Black or African American, Cohort Studies, Diabetes Mellitus, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Incidence, Risk Factors, Sleep Duration, United States, White, Sleep duration, sleep trajectories, incident diabetes, racial disparities

DOI

10.1007/s00125-024-06202-8

PMID

38935155

PMCID

PMC11789206

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

2-3-2025

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Author MSS

Published Open-Access

yes