Sleeping too much or too little may increase the risk of diabetes in men, but not for women according to a study by European researchers.
More than 29 million people nationwide have diabetes, according to the Endocrine Society's Endocrine Facts and Figures Report. Of the 29.1 million, 21.0 million were diagnosed, and 8.1 million were undiagnosed.
In 2012, 86 million Americans age 20 and older had prediabetes; this is up from 79 million in 2010.
Diabetes stays the 7th leading cause of death in the United States in 2010, with 69,071 death certificates listing it as the underlying cause of death, and a total of 234,051 death certificates listing diabetes as an underlying or contributing cause of death.
"Even when you are healthy, sleeping too much or too little can have detrimental effects on your health. This research shows how important sleep is to a key aspect of health -- glucose [sugar] metabolism," said senior study author Femke Rutters who is with the VU Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The study examined almost 800 healthy adults in 14 European countries. Compared to men who sleeps around seven hours a night, the men who sleeps the most or the least were more likely to have more difficulty breaking down sugar and to have higher blood sugar levels, the research discovered which leads to increased risk for diabetes.
On the other hand , women who sleeps less or more than average, however, were more responsive to the hormone insulin than women who sleeps the average time. They also had improved function of beta cells - the cells in the pancreas that make the hormone insulin which suggests lost sleep may not lead women to increased risk of getting diabetes.
The study is the first to indicate the opposite effect of sleep issue on diabetes risk in men and women, the researchers said.
Study also suggest even healthy people are at risk of the negative effects of a sleep imbalance.
Scientists believe this discovery could be key in reducing soaring diabetes rates.
The study was published online June 29 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
