Women with a history of gestational diabetes who experience shorter sleep duration and frequent snoring face a significantly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a recent cohort analysis.

Xin Yin, PhD, and colleagues, analyzed data from 2,891 women in the Nurses’ Health Study II for over 42,155 person-years. During follow-up, 563 participants (19.5%) developed type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Women who snored occasionally or regularly had a significantly higher risk of T2D. Compared with those who rarely snored, occasional snorers had a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.54, while regular snorers had an HR of 1.61, according to study results published in JAMA Network Open.

Short sleep duration also increased risk. Women sleeping 6 or fewer hours per day had an HR of 1.32 compared with those sleeping 7 to 8 hours. The highest risk was observed in women who both snored regularly and had short sleep, with an HR of 2.06.

A subset analysis showed frequent snoring was linked to higher levels of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), C-peptide, and insulin. Regular snorers had an HbA1c least-squares mean (LSM) of 5.89% versus 5.78% in those who rarely snored. Snoring was also associated with increased C-peptide and insulin levels.

"These findings suggest that improving sleep health may be important to reduce T2D incidence in this high-risk population," noted researchers.

They added that improving sleep health may help lower T2D risk. However, they acknowledged limitations, including self-reported sleep data, which may introduce recall bias, and a predominantly White study population, limiting generalizability. Despite these factors, the study’s large sample and long follow-up period strengthen its findings.

Full disclosures are available in the study.