Effect of high-fat diet and metformin treatment on ventilation and sleep apnea in non-obese rats

We investigated the effect of insulin resistance on ventilation and the incidence of sleep apnea in non-obese rats and determined whether metformin could change ventilation and occurrence of sleep apneas. Five groups of rats were studied: (1) standard chow; (2) high-fat groups, with 1 with metformin; (2) had type 2 diabetes induced by streptozotocin, with 1 with metformin. Compared to standard rats, ventilatory parameters remained unchanged in the high-fat fed diet as well as in diabetic rats. However, their oxygen consumption was reduced (p ≤ 0.01). They had a lower ventilatory response to CO2 challenge (p ≤ 0.01), and their sleep apnea scores increased markedly (p ≤ 0.001). These results suggest that insulin resistance could impair the ventilation control. Metformin treatment, known to reduce insulin resistance, got sleep apnea scores back to their basic levels, reinforcing the idea that insulin resistance is a major factor in the occurrence of apneas in this rat model.