Sleep Duration Associated With Higher Risk of Hypertension

Higher risk of hypertension and elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) were found to be associated with shorter sleep duration and high siesta ratio, according to study findings published in Clinical Cardiology.

Sleep status has been known to affect blood pressure and can increase the risk of hypertension. This study aimed to evaluate the association between siestas, sleep duration, total sleep duration, and the percentage of siesta in total sleep duration with the risk of hypertension and CVDs in adults who are of middle-age and older.

The study collected data from middle-aged and older adults without hypertension or CVDs from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a longitudinal study that was conducted from June 2011 to March 2012. Participants with hypertension data were divided into a hypertension group and a nonhypertension group, and participants with CVD data were split into a CVD group and a non-CVD group.

Covariables of this study included age, gender, marriage, residence, education, smoking, drinking, vigorous activity, moderate activity, walk activity, dyslipidemia, diabetes, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and body mass index. Participants were followed up for 3 years with questionnaires, with the follow-up discontinued if an outcome event was observed. The median (SD) follow-up was 6.51 (1.11) years. Participants were asked if they had received a diagnosis of stroke or cardiac events by a doctor.

There were 7604 participants included in this study whose association with hypertension was evaluated, of which 2075 had hypertension by the end of the follow-up period.

People with less than 6 hours of sleep at night (odds ratio [OR], 1.130; 95% CI, 1.006-1.270), total sleep duration of less than 6 hours (OR, 1.176; 95% CI, 1.033-1.339), who had a siesta ratio of 0 (OR, 0.850; 95% CI, 0.740-0.977), and who had a siesta ratio of at least 0.4 (OR, 1.742; 95% CI, 1.158-2.620) had possible associations with risk of hypertension in a univariate logistic model.

Risk of hypertension was found in middle-aged and older adults who reported sleep duration of less than 6 hours (OR, 1.168; 95% CI, 1.023-1.335) and siesta ratios of 0.4 or higher (OR, 1.712; 95% CI, 1.129-2.594) after adjustment.

A multivariable logistic regression model found that men 60 years and older with a siesta ratio of at least 0.4 had a higher risk of hypertension (OR, 3.009; 95% CI, 1.313-6.899) with a possible association between total sleep duration of less than 6 hours and hypertension risk (OR, 1.337; 95% CI, 1.011-1.768).

There were 8670 participants whose relationship between sleep duration and CVDs was evaluated, of which 986 had CVDs.

Participants with a siesta duration below 0.5 hours (OR, 2.104; 95% CI, 1.361-3.253), sleep duration of less than 6 hours (OR, 1.458; 95% CI, 1.256-1.692), and total sleep duration of less than 6 hours (OR, 1.339; 95% CI, 1.138-1.576) were shown to have a possible risk of CVDs. This risk was elevated in participants with a siesta duration of less than 0.5 hours (OR, 2.053; 95% CI, 1.323-3.185) after adjustment. Participants with a sleep duration of less than 6 hours at night (OR, 1.374, 95% CI, 1.180-1.599) and total sleep duration of less than 6 hours (OR, 1.260; 95% CI, 1.068-1.488) also had an increased risk of CVDs.

Sleep duration at night of less than 6 hours was associated with an increased risk of CVDs in women 60 years and older (OR, 1.617; 95% CI, 1.187-2.204).

There were some limitations to this study. Correlations between siesta, sleep duration at night, total sleep duration, siesta ratio, and hypertension or CVDs were the only correlations that could be obtained. Also, variables were self-reported and may have caused bias and some variables were not included in the CHARLS database.

The researchers concluded that short sleep duration and high siesta ratio were associated with a higher risk of CVDs and hypertension in middle-aged and older adults.

Reference

Lin L, Huang J, Liu Z, Chen P, Huang C. Associations of siesta and total sleep duration with hypertension or cardiovascular diseases in middle-aged and older adults. Clin Cardiol. Published online December 12, 2022. doi:10.1002/clc.23954