Sleep quality in women with diabetes in pregnancy: a single-centre retrospective study

Abstract Purpose Sleep quality is an important indicator of individual quality of life, which not only affects people's mental health but is also closely related to the occurrence of many diseases. Sleep disorders associated with diabetes in pregnancy (DIP) can greatly endanger the health of mothers and babies, and the relationship between their hazards and blood glucose levels is very close. This study explored the quality of sleep in patients with DIP while analyzing the clinical features and related factors of their sleep disorders. Methods From June 2020 to July 2021, a total of 693 patients diagnosed with diabetes in pregnancy (DIP) in Gansu Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital were used as the experiment group, including 626 patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and 67 patients with pregestational diabetes mellitus (PGDM). At the same time, 709 non-DIP women were randomly selected as the control group. To obtain the general situation of the participants, the participants were surveyed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the STOP-Bang questionnaire. The differences in sleep quality and obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) were analyzed between the experiment group and the control group using rank and chi-square test, and the clinical features and related factors of sleep disorder were analyzed. Results Compared with the control group, the experiment group had a larger age, pre-pregnancy weight, body mass index (BMI), and large neck circumference (P < 0.05). The PSQI scores for sleep quality, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep disorder, and daytime dysfunction were higher compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Specific analysis of the clinical features of sleep disorders found that the experimental group had higher scores compared with the control group in terms of difficulty falling asleep, ease of waking up at night or waking up early, poor breathing, cough or snoring effects, feeling hot, nightmares, pain and discomfort, and other events that affected sleep (P < 0.05). The analysis of the types of daytime dysfunction found that the experiment group scored higher in terms of frequently feeling sleepy and lack of energy to do things than the control group (P < 0.05). Analysis of STOP-BANG scores indicated that the proportion of patients with GDM or PGDM having fatigue, hypertension, BMI > 35 kg/m2, and neck circumference > 40 cm was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions Patients with DIP had more sleep disorders and a higher risk of developing OSAHS than non-diabetic pregnant women. There may be some link between sleep quality and the onset of DIP. This study lays the foundation for further studies and provides new ideas for the prevention and treatment of DIP.