Are you a night owl? Beware of the risk of suffering from diabetes. According to a recent study, those who go to bed and wake up late have an increased risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes. This study was carried out by experts from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (United States), who found that people who went to bed and got up later had a less healthy lifestyle. Hence an increased risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes. These conclusions were published in the scientific journal Annals of Internal Medicine on September 12.
“Chronotype, or circadian preference, refers to a person’s preferred time of sleeping and waking and is partly genetically determined, so it can be difficult to change. People who think they are night owls may need to pay more attention to their lifestyle, as their evening chronotype may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes,” recommends corresponding author Tianyi Huang , epidemiologist, in the study press release.
As part of this study, data from 63,676 nurses were used. All this information was collected between 2009 and 2017. Each participant specified their chronotype (bedtime), diet, body mass index, alcohol consumption, physical activity, family history of diabetes, etc. In detail, 11% of the panel believed they had an evening chronotype compared to 35% a morning chronotype. The others called themselves intermediaries. “Evening chronotype was associated with a 72% increased risk of diabetes, before accounting for lifestyle factors. After accounting for these factors, evening chronotype was associated with a 19% increased risk of diabetes. Of the people in the study with the healthiest lifestyles, only 6% had evening chronotypes. Among those with the most unhealthy lifestyles, 25% were evening chronotypes,” the study details.
Researchers found that participants with an evening chronotype were more likely to drink more alcohol, eat lower-quality foods, sleep less, smoke, have a higher BMI, and more. “When we controlled for unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, the strong association between chronotype and diabetes risk was reduced but remained, meaning that lifestyle factors explain a notable proportion of this association », adds the first author Sina Kianersi.
Another interesting fact, the study points out that when the natural preference (evening or morning) is not in line with working hours, the risk of type 2 diabetes is also increased. For one of the authors of the study, this element argues in favor of a “more personalized work schedule”. According to data from Public Health France, more than 3.5 million people were treated with medication for diabetes in 2020. This is 5.3% of the population who are affected.
