“Night Owls” More Likely Than “Early Birds” To Develop Diabetes.

Study results support importance of circadian rhythms in metabolic regulation. Men who were night owls were more likely to have diabetes or sarcopenia than those who were early risers,” the study revealed. Meanwhile, compared to early risers, “women who were night owls tended to have more belly fat and a higher risk of metabolic syndrome.” HealthDay quotes study lead author Nan Hee Kim, MD, PhD, of the Korea University College of Medicine, who said in a news release from the Endocrine Society that “considering that many younger people are night owls, the risk associated with this type of sleep habit is ‘an important health issue that needs to be addressed.’” Evening types complained more often of insomnia, which could lead to poorer sleep quality, even though sleep duration wasn't different between the two groups. In addition, evening types got less exercise and smoked more than morning types in the study. "These unhealthy behavior patterns might lead to the metabolic dysregulation in evening types, although the association between night type and metabolic disorders was significant even after adjusting for these lifestyle factors," Kim said. It could also be that evening types are more likely to have circadian misalignment, he added.It is possible that bad metabolic profiles due to unhealthy behavioral habits could influence circadian rhythms or, inversely, that chronic circadian derangement could lead to metabolic dysregulation in evening chronotypes," the authors acknowledged. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/MetabolicSyndrome/50778