Sleep Related Leg Movements And Diabetes

A new study found patients reporting sleep-related leg movements were 72% more likely to have diabetes than those who did not report these movements. Restless nights can take a toll that goes beyond next-day tiredness. Sleep influences nearly every aspect of our health, and chronic disruptions to sleep patterns have been linked to increased risks for different diseases. To further investigate this connection, a recent study explored the association between sleep-related leg movements and diabetes. Sleep-related leg movements, or SRLMs, are the twitches, jerks, or other leg movements that can disturb sleep. These can include periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS), in which the legs repeatedly contract during the night, and restless legs syndrome, in which uncomfortable sensations create an urge to move. Because many people notice these movements themselves or hear about them from a bed partner, SRLMs are typically patient-reported rather than measured in a sleep study. For the study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 9,000 adults in a publicly available health database to determine how frequently sleep-related leg movements were associated with diabetes. They explored whether short sleep duration or inflammation markers in the body might help explain the link. After adjusting for demographic and clinical factors—such as age, body mass index, sleep apnea, and hypertension—the researchers found that people who reported SRLMs were 72% more likely to have diabetes than those who did not report these movements. Short sleep duration and inflammation explained only a small portion of the relationship. Short sleep duration and inflammation accounted for only a small part of the association, suggesting other biological mechanisms may connect leg movements and metabolic disease.

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