Poster Presentation The Annual Scientific Meeting of the Endocrine Society of Australia and the Society for Reproductive Biology 2014

Sleep disturbance in pregnant women with and without Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (#263)

Jaime Lin 1 , Annette Robertson 1 2 , Sue Lynn Lau 1 , Colin Sullivan 3 , Mark McLean 1 , Annemarie Hennessy 1 2
  1. University of Western Sydney, School of Medicine, NSW, Australia
  2. Campbelltown Hospital, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia
  3. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Introduction: Studies demonstrate a link between sleep disorder and diabetes risk. Whether sleep deprivation, or sleep-disordered breathing, contribute to pathogenesis or severity of gestational diabetes (GDM)remains unknown.

Methods: 2309 pregnant women recruited from antenatal clinics were administered the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Berlin Questionnaire. Anthropometry was performed and self-reported pre-pregnancy weight recorded. ‘SonoMat’ home sleep tests were conducted in 202 women. From this larger cohort, 150 women with GDM and 150 non-GDM controls were selected, matched for age and pre-pregnancy BMI. Diabetes status was confirmed on glucose tolerance test results, using ADIPS criteria. Sleep questionnaire results were compared between GDM and control groups. Within the GDM group, glucose levels were compared between those with ‘high risk’ and ‘low risk’ sleep questionnaire scores.

Results: Mean age (31yrs both groups) and prepregnancy BMI (30.8 both groups) confirmed successfully matching of GDM and controls. 3% of GDM were classified high risk, and 20% moderate risk according to the Epworth scale, not significantly different from the control group (4% high risk, 22% moderate risk). 68% of GDM were classified ‘high risk’ on Berlin Questionnaire, compared to 63% of normal controls (p=ns). In GDM, mean fasting glucose did not differ between the high or low risk Berlin Questionnaire groups (5.3 vs 5.5mmol/L, p=0.2). No differences in fasting/2hr glucose were found between Epworth Scale risk groups. Preliminary analysis of ‘SonoMat’ studies in 14 GDMs and 12 controls found a trend to higher apnoea:hypopnoea index and significantly more snoring in GDM women; further analysis is planned.

Conclusions: In groups matched for pre-pregnancy BMI, sleep questionnaire results did not differ according to glucose tolerance. Sleep disorder, independent of BMI, may not contribute significantly to GDM pathogenesis or severity. Alternatively, sleep questionnaires may be a poor method of assessing sleep disorders in pregnancy. Further SonoMat studies will be analysed.