Advanced Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and its Impact on Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity

Kuwait suffers from a high percentage of obesity and Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) has been shown to be a cause of insulin resistance and T2D. Even though, accurate statistics are lacking, it`s roughly estimated that a 10-15% of the Kuwaiti population is suffering from it. In light of the high percentage of diabetes rates in Kuwait, it`s believed that OSA rates might be higher than other countries in the world. Consequently, OSA treatment can be employed to improve glycemic control and insulin sensitivity. OSA can be treated through a number of procedures like Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), Maxillofacial Surgery, Sleep Surgery, Upper Airway Stimulation, Bariatric Surgery, Oral Appliances and Positional Therapy (PT). The effect of treatment can be established by repeated sleep studies. Although the Polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for diagnosing OSA, repeating standard
PSG in all patients is time consuming and expensive. Identification of a blood biomarker can provide less expensive, less time consuming and more patient friendly diagnosis tool than PSG. Replacement of PSG for accurate biomarkers would provide a worldwide opportunity for all OSA clinics the replace baseline and follow-up standard OSA screening. The Dasman Diabetes Institute has a biomarker panel that has potential for monitoring the severity and treatment effect of OSA. Proper diagnosis and treatment especially in pre-diabetic subjects could provide an alternative diabetes prevention program that will also reduce both cardiovascular risks and further diabetes complication. Due to the high prevalence of prediabetes in Kuwait providing an alternate prevention method is believed to be an important topic of interest.