Can treating sleep apnea fix blood sugar problems?
NCT ID NCT03408613
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looks at why sleep apnea raises the risk of diabetes. Overweight adults with and without sleep apnea will have their blood sugar control measured. Some will receive CPAP, some will get extra oxygen at night, and others will get a sham treatment. The goal is to find out if poor sleep or low oxygen is the main cause of blood sugar issues.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this study could reveal whether lack of oxygen or poor sleep causes blood sugar problems in sleep apnea, pointing toward better treatments.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage, suspended study with only 80 participants. Results may not apply to everyone, and the treatments tested may not improve glucose metabolism.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 80 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2018
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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30 to 70 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
General Inclusion Criteria (for all subjects): * Age: ≥30 and ≤70 years, * BMI: ≥30 and ≤45 kg/m2 or body fat ≥ 30 % for women and ≥ 25 % for men, * Maximum body circumference \<170 cm * Weight stable (≤2% change) * Untrained (≤1 h of structured exercise/wk) for at least 3 months before entering the study * No diabetes (fasting blood glucose \<126 mg/dl, 2h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) glucose \<200 mg/dl, HbA1c ≤6.5%) Sleep-related inclusion criteria: Subjects without OSA: * AHI \<5/h of sleep; * Oxygen desaturation index \<3/h * No known sleep disorders and periodic limb movement arousal index \<15/h during polysomnography * Reported sleep duration ≥6 h per night * Regular sleep schedules (i.e. bedtime between 8 pm and 12 am and wake-time between 4 am and 8 am on all days of the week) Subjects with OSA * AHI ≥10/h of sleep (i.e., moderate to severe OSA) * Oxygen desaturation index ≥4/h; * No polysomnogram finding that would trigger immediate PAP treatment as per standard operating protocol in our sleep medicine center (a single SaO2 \<50%, SaO2 \<70% for \>2 minutes, electrocardiogram pause \>5 sec, or ventricular tachycardia \>30 sec), because of the risk of a potentially adverse outcome if they are not randomized to the PAP group * Periodic limb movement arousal index \<15/h during polysomnography, * Reported sleep duration ≥6 h per night, * Regular night-time sleep schedules, defined as bedtime between 8 pm and 12 am and wake-time between 4 am and 8 am on all days of the week. General Exclusion Criteria (for all subjects): * Current treatment for previously diagnosed OSA; * Self-reported severe difficulty sleeping in unfamiliar environments; * Metal implants that are incompatible with magnetic resonance imaging; * Controlled substances, tobacco products, dietary supplements, or medications known or suspected to affect sleep, breathing, upper airway muscle physiology, or glucose metabolism * Evidence of disease (e.g., diabetes, congestive heart failure; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; hypoventilation, defined as daytime partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) \>45 mm Hg; major neurological or neuromuscular disorders; cancer; uncontrolled hypertension; etc.); * Contraindications to supplemental oxygen or PAP (e.g., recent trans-sphenoidal surgery). * Unwillingness or inability to provide informed consent * Study physician considers subject to be unable to safely complete the study protocol
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Washington University School of Medicine
St Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Could oxygen or a common drug fix Opioid-Linked sleep apnea?