Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is independently associated with an increased risk of diabetes, whereas insulin-treated diabetes is independently associated with a higher risk of OSA, particularly in women, a recent study found. Researchers followed 146,519 participants from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS; 2002–2012), Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII; 1995–2013), and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS; 1996–2012) who were free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at baseline. In parallel, researchers used similar approaches to estimate risk of developing OSA according to diabetes status among 151,194 participants free of OSA, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at baseline. In all 3 cohorts, diagnoses of diabetes and OSA were identified by validated self-reports. They found:

• Similar results were observed across the 3 cohorts.
• In the pooled analysis, 9,029 incident diabetes cases were identified during follow-up.
• After accounting for potential confounders, the hazard ratio (HR) for diabetes was 2.06 (1.86, 2.28) comparing those with vs without OSA.
• In the second analysis, 9,364 incident OSA cases during follow-up were documented; compared with those without diabetes, the multivariable HR for OSA was 1.53 (1.32, 1.77) in individuals with diabetes.