Lack of sleep affects women and men differently

Lack of sleep with different effects on the enzyme activity of DPP-4

Many people suffer from sleep disorders. The lack of sleep on women and men obviously has a very different effect. Women show a significantly greater increase in the enzyme activity of DPP-4 than men, according to a recent study. The enzyme is associated with the development of obesity, liver adiposity and insulin insensitivity.

In a joint study, scientists from the University of Uppsala (Sweden) and the German Institute for Human Nutrition (DifE) have shown that women and men respond differently to sleep loss in their enzyme activity. Thus, women increasingly form DPP-4, while in men the morning activity of the enzyme decreases. The results of the study were published in the journal Diabetes Care.

Lack of sleep increases the risk of diabetes and obesity

Sleep disorders have been identified in previous studies as risk factors for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Increased production of the enzyme DPP-4, which inhibits important intestinal hormones of sugar metabolism, may in turn lead to body fat gain, fatty liver and insulin insensitivity, according to several studies by DIfE. So far, however, remained unclear whether lack of sleep affects the activity of DPP-4, the scientists report.

Significant differences in enzyme activity

In the current study, the researchers "measured the activity of DDP-4 in the blood in 13 women and 12 men (age 18-28 years) in the morning after a normal night's sleep (with seven hours sleep and more) or one night without sleep." , reports the German Center for Diabetes Research, a partner of DifE. The scientists found significant differences in DPP-4 activity between the sexes in their study. According to Christian Benedict, senior author and researcher at the Department of Neuroscience (Sleep and Chronobiology) of the University of Uppsala, circulatory DPP-4 activity in women increased by about 14 percent after a sleepless night, compared to about 11 percent among men Percent dropped.

Even men show an increased risk of illness in sleep deprivation

The scientists assume that sleep deprivation in men and women can lead to metabolic diseases in different ways. For both men, the risk of a metabolic disorder is increased by sleep disorders. "Although reduced DPP-4 can be seen as a beneficial metabolic response by men to sleep loss, it should be noted that chronic poor sleep patterns increase the risk of developing metabolic diseases (eg, obesity) in both sexes," stresses Heike Vogel of the Experimental Department Diabetology of the DifE. (Fp)