Association between sleep duration and estimated glomerular filtration rate in Chinese patients with diabetes: evidence from a cross-sectional study

Previous epidemiological studies have demonstrated substantial associations between sleep duration and diabetes, vascular complications of diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients. However, few studies have so far explored the effect of sleep time on estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in patients with diabetes. This study was performed for the purpose of exploring the relationship between sleep duration and eGFR in diabetic patients. This study analyzed 1389 patients with diabetes from the National Metallic Management Center in China. This cross-sectional study assessed sleep duration and eGFR in patients with diabetes. Sleep duration at night was categorized into four groups: very short (< 6 h), short (6–6.9 h), optimal (7-8 h), and long (> 8 h). The association of sleep duration with eGFR was analyzed using univariate linear regression, and generalized additive models were applied to assess the non-linear relationship between sleep duration and eGFR. Compared to optimal sleep duration (7-8 h), both long sleep duration (> 8 h) and very short sleep duration (< 6 h) were associated with level of eGFR (β = -3.63, 95%CI: − 5.54 to − 1.71, P = 0.0002 and β = − 4.79, 95%CI: − 8.55 to − 1.03, P = 0.0126, respectively). The smooth curve showed that the relationship between sleep duration and eGFR level was non-linear after adjusting for potential confounders. Through the use of a two-piecewise linear regression model, we calculated the inflection point was 7 h. Both very short and long sleep durations were associated with low eGFR in diabetics. There is a U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and eGFR levels.