Impact of irregular sleep pattern, and sleep quality on glycaemic parameters and endothelial function in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes

Summary

This study investigated the impact of comprehensive sleep patterns on glycaemic parameters and endothelial function in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Thirty subjects with type 1 diabetes (aged 13–25) without chronic complications participated. For 1 week, glucose levels were monitored by real‐time continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and sleep was simultaneously assessed by actigraphy. Subjective sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Flow‐mediated dilatation (FMD) measured endothelial function at the brachial artery. Insulin sensitivity was determined by calculated estimated glucose disposal rate (eGDR). Glycaemic control was assessed using haemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) levels. To address potential confounding by metabolic syndrome on the FMD results, three affected subjects were excluded from FMD correlation analyses. Participants with PSQI scores >5 had a lower %FMD compared with those with scores ≤5 (4.6 ± 3.7% vs. 7.6 ± 3.0%, p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis indicated that lower sleep efficiency and higher sleep duration variability were associated with higher HbA1C levels (β = −0.076, 95%CI [−0.145, −0.008], p = 0.029; β = 0.012, 95%CI [0.001, 0.023], p = 0.033). Irregular sleep timing and lower sleep efficiency were related to decreased insulin sensitivity (sleep midpoint irregularity β = −1.581, 95%CI [−2.661, −0.502], p = 0.004, and sleep efficiency β = 0.147, 95%CI [0.060, 0.235], p = 0.001). No significant associations were found between glycaemic parameters and FMD. Our study demonstrated that sleep irregularity in type 1 diabetes was associated with glycaemic control and insulin resistance, while poor subjective sleep quality was linked to endothelial dysfunction. Promoting healthy sleep habits, including consistent sleep timing could benefit metabolic and cardiovascular health in type 1 diabetes.