Characterising the relationship between sleep stages and associated spectral power in diabetes

Sleep disturbances are prevalent in the UK and globally, with sleep data from across 13 countries suggesting that only 55% of adults are satisfied with their sleep. Disturbed sleep is found in diabetes which is one of the most serious diseases worldwide. Specifically, relationships have been found between glycaemic control and sleep duration and quality. It is currently unclear how diabetes specifically affects sleep stages, and their associated spectral power. This study aims to characterise the relationship between polysomnography-measured specific sleep stages and associated spectral power in adults with diabetes and control participants. This study involved a secondary data analysis of multi-cohort Sleep Heart Health (SHH) data using a matched-pairs design. The sample included 414 participants (211 males, 203 females, mean age (years) 70.0, 95% CI [69.1, 70.9]) 207 with diabetes and 207 matched controls. The results suggest an increase in light sleep in diabetes, specifically NREM stage 2 sleep duration (p = 0.05) and percentage (p = 0.04), with an increase in slow-wave activity (p = 0.03) and delta power (p = 0.04) during NREM stage 1 sleep. Slow-wave sleep duration marginally reduced in diabetes, (p = 0.09), whilst delta power (p < 0.01), slow-wave activity (p = 0.02) and theta power (p < 0.01) in slow-wave sleep also significantly reduced in diabetes compared to control participants. No other changes to sleep stages or associated spectral power were observed. These results suggest a potential homoeostatic influence of sleep on glycaemic control, which should be further explored in future research.