Risk Factors for Sleep Apnea Syndrome in Diabetic Patients with a Focus on Comorbidities

Diabetic patients often have various diseases such as vascular diseases and other comorbidities. Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) in such patients may lead to acute deterioration due to nocturnal hypoxia. Among the 1,367 ambulant patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) who were being treated at our institution, 483 (313 men and 170 women) who agreed to undergo a portable sleep polygraph test were evaluated to identify risk factors for SAS, with a focus on microangiopathy and stable comorbidities. The rates of intracranial lesions, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, thyroid diseases, and mental illness were 22%, 9.9%, 39.8%, 16.1%, 7.7%, and 5.8%, respectively. The rates of microangiopathy were as follows: retinopathy (30.6%) and nephropathy (48.5%). The patients had an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 15.4±14.3 (mean±standard deviation) (16.8±14.5 in men and 12.9±13.8 in women). The prevalence of SAS (AHI≥15) was 40.6% (127/313) in men and 29.4% (50/170) in women. Intracranial lesions, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer were more common among patients with SAS than among those without SAS (AHI