Examining the poorly understood link between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and type 2 diabetes complications, researchers identified specific measures of low blood oxygenation that are associated with impaired kidney function and diabetic nephropathy. The study by Linong Ji, MD and colleagues, Peking University People's Hospital and Peking University Health Science Center (Beijing, China) was published in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics.

In this study researchers describe the use of overnight sleep monitoring with measurement of respiratory parameters including the apnea hyponea index, oxygen desaturation index, oxygen saturation, and the total time oxygen saturation was below 90% or 85%. They report which parameters of nocturnal hypoxemia were more closely linked to diabetic microvascular complications such as renal disease. This study highlights the association of sleep apnea with microvascular disease associated with diabetes and this finding may be associated with obesity, which is a common occurrence with type 2 diabetes.

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