Obstructive sleep apnoea in Type 2 diabetes mellitus: increased risk for overweight as well as obese people included in a national primary care database analysis.

Aims: To determine obstructive sleep apnoea prevalence in people with Type 2 or Type 1 diabetes in a national primary care setting, stratified by BMI category, and to explore the relationship between patient characteristics and obstructive sleep apnoea. Methods: Using the Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre database, a cross‐sectional analysis was conducted. Diabetes type was identified using a seven‐step algorithm and was grouped by Type 2 diabetes, Type 1 diabetes and no diabetes. The clinical characteristics of these groups were analysed, BMI‐stratified obstructive sleep apnoea prevalence rates were calculated, and a multilevel logistic regression analysis was completed on the Type 2 diabetes group. Results: Analysis of 1 275 461 adult records in the Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre network showed that obstructive sleep apnoea was prevalent in 0.7%. In people with Type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea prevalence increased with each increasing BMI category, from 0.5% in those of normal weight to 9.6% in those in the highest obesity class. By comparison, obstructive sleep apnoea prevalence rates for these BMI categories in Type 1 diabetes were 0.3% and 4.3%, and in those without diabetes 1.2% and 3.9%, respectively. Obstructive sleep apnoea was more prevalent in men than women in both diabetes types. When known risk factors were adjusted for, there were increased odds ratios for obstructive sleep apnoea in people with Type 2 diabetes in the overweight and higher BMI categories. Conclusions: Obstructive sleep apnoea was reported in people with both types of diabetes across the range of overweight categories and not simply in the highest obesity class. What's new?: Links among Type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) have been established in secondary care clinic studies, but primary care population data are limited.From a national primary care network, we ascertained that people with Type 2 diabetes had an increased OSA prevalence in every excessive weight category, from overweight to obesity class 3. People with Type 1 diabetes had similar OSA prevalence rates as those without diabetes.Strategies to diagnose and manage OSA need to consider its increased prevalence in people with Type 2 diabetes who are overweight as well as those with obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]