Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Sleep and physical activity (PA) are crucial lifestyle components for primary prevention. Governments worldwide have aimed to promote regular PA among diabetic patients to prevent complications and reduce mortality rates. Furthermore, literature data suggests that physical activity contributes to an enhancement in sleep quality¹. This study aims to assess the level of PA and the sleep quality (SQ) in adults with type 2 diabetes and analyze the correlation between these two parameters.

Materials: One hundred adults with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in this study. Physical activity level was assessed using the Ricci and Gagnon questionnaire. Patients were asked to complete Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) to assess SQ². The total PSQI score was obtained by adding seven scores corresponding to seven components of SQ and a total score >5 indicates significant sleep disturbance and categorizes the subjects as poor sleepers.

Results: Mean age was 54.45±7.13 years with female predominance (72%). High blood pressure was reported in 40% of the study population and more than two thirds of patients (70%) had dyslipidemia. Mean diabetes duration was 12.67±7.35 years, 79% used insulin while 21% of patients used oral glucose-lowering drugs (OGLDs) only. Mean BMI was 29.49 ±4.97 kg/m². Half of our sample was obese (49%). Mean Ricci and Gagnon total score was 18.20±8.11 with extremes ranging from 9 to 38. More than half of our sample (57%) were inactive, 40% were active, and only 3% of patients were very active. The mean PSQI score was 7.89±3.69 and 69 % of our patients had poor sleep quality. The Ricci and Gagnon score was negatively correlated with the PSQI total score (P=0.024; r= - 0.236). Regarding its relationship with sleep components our study revealed that the physical activity level was negatively correlated with self-reported sleep quality (P=0.013; r=-0.257), habitual sleep efficiency (P=0.032, r=-0.224) and daytime dysfunction (P=0.003; r= - 0.303).

Conclusion: Our study suggests that physical activity could be an area of focus for interventions to improve sleep quality, which is often compromised in diabetic population.

References: 1. Jibril MN, Umar HT, Umaru MB, Abdulsalam MY, Musa SD. Pattern of physical activity, sleep duration and quality of life among individuals with diabetes mellitus in selected health facilities in Kano, Northwestern Nigeria. J. Niger. Soc. Physiother. 2021;20:23-32.2. Suleiman KH, Yates BC, Berger AM, Pozehl B, Meza J. Translating the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index into Arabic. West. J. Nurs. Res. 2010;32:250-68.