Risk of Incident Obstructive Sleep Apnea Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE This study compared the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with and without type 2 diabetes and investigated risk factors for OSA in patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A retrospective cohort study was performed to compare OSA incidence between adult patients with and without type 2 diabetes matched for age, sex, and BMI. Patients with a prevalent OSA diagnosis were excluded. The study cohort was derived from The Health Improvement Network (THIN), a U.K. primary care database, from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2017. RESULTS There were 3,110 (0.88%) and 5,968 (0.46%) incident OSA cases identified in the 360,250 exposed and 1,296,489 unexposed patient cohorts, respectively. Adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) of OSA in patients with type 2 diabetes compared with those without was 1.48 (95% CI 1.42–1.55; P P = 0.005), being prescribed insulin in the last 60 days (1.58 [1.42–1.75]; P P P P P P P = 0.015), hypertension (1.32 [1.23–1.43]; P P CONCLUSIONS When considered alongside previous evidence, this study indicates that the association between type 2 diabetes and OSA is bidirectional. In addition to known predictors of OSA, diabetes-related foot disease and insulin treatment were identified as risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes.