To analyse the impact of family history of diabetes on subjective sleep quality in I year Medical students

Background: India being the “diabetes capital of the world” demands a pressing need to keep this diabetic epidemic in control. Poor sleep quality and decreased sleep duration have been linked to being one of the causal factors of diabetes. Thus sleep is not only a process of restoration of bodily function, but plays a major role in metabolic, specifically in glucose homeostasis. Though the link between poor sleep quality and diabetes is well established and proven to be bi-directional, the effect of sleep quality on the offspring of diabetics is not documented. So the objective of our study is to look at the effect of family history of diabetes on subjective sleep quality in I year Medical students. Methods: After obtaining the informed consent, students filled out questionnaire with details of family history of diabetes, based on which they were classified into FH-, FH+1 and FH+2 groups which represents 0 , 1, and 2 diabetics in the family respectively. Sleep quality was assessed by Pittsburgh sleep Quality index (PSQI) Questionnaire which is a subjective assessment of self-reported sleep quality. Results: The global PSQI score was significantly different across the groups with FH+2 having highest (6.86) score. Pearson chi square test showed significant association between poor sleep quality and strong history of diabetes. Conclusions: Strong family history of diabetes is associated with a poor sleep quality. An inheritable, overactive central sympathetic activity could be the possible link between sleep quality and family history of diabetes.