Alignment Between 24-h Light-Dark and Activity-Rest Rhythms Is Associated With Diabetes and Glucose Metabolism in a Nationally Representative Sample of American Adults

Authors

Qian Xiao
John Durbin
Cici Bauer
Chris Ho Ching Yeung
Mariana G Figueiro

Publication Date

12-1-2023

Journal

Diabetes Care

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The alignment between environmental stimuli (e.g., dark, light) and behavior cycles (e.g., rest, activity) is an essential feature of the circadian timing system, a key contributor to metabolic health. However, no previous studies have investigated light-activity alignment in relation to glycemic control in human populations.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The analysis included ∼7,000 adults (aged 20-80 years) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (2011-2014) with actigraphy-measured, multiday, 24-h activity and light data. We used phasor analysis to derive phasor magnitude and phasor angle, which measures coupling strength and phase difference between the activity-rest and light-dark cycles, respectively. We used multinomial logistic regression and multiple linear regression to study phasor magnitude and phasor angle in relation to diabetes (primary outcome) and multiple secondary biomarkers of glycemic control.

RESULTS: Lower alignment strength (i.e., a shorter phasor magnitude) and more delayed activity relative to the light cycle (i.e., a larger phasor angle) were both associated with diabetes. Specifically, compared with individuals in the quintiles indicating the most proper alignment (Q5 for phasor magnitude and Q1 for phasor angle), those in the quintiles with the most impaired alignment had a >70% increase in the odds of diabetes for phasor magnitude (odds ratio 1.76 [95% CI 1.39, 2.24]) and for phasor angle (1.73 [1.34, 2.25]). Similar associations were observed for biomarkers for glucose metabolism. The results were generally consistent across diverse sociodemographic and obesity groups.

CONCLUSIONS: The alignment pattern between 24-h activity-rest and light-dark cycles may be a critical factor in metabolic health.

Keywords

Humans, Adult, Circadian Rhythm, Nutrition Surveys, Diabetes Mellitus, Glucose, Biomarkers

DOI

10.2337/dc23-1034

PMID

37734073

PMCID

PMC10698218

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

9-21-2023

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Published Open-Access

yes