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Sleep Health Shows Mixed Association With Cardiometabolic Disease Risk

Heidi Splete

DISCLOSURES

TOPLINE:

Cardiometabolic disease (CMD) biomarkers were inconsistently associated with sleep health and not influenced by ethnicity in a diverse population.

METHODOLOGY:

  • The researchers analyzed data from 570 individuals in the Community of Mine study on self-reported sleep quality and accelerometer-measured sleep duration and efficiency; the mean age was 59 years, 56% were female, and 43% were Hispanic participants.
  • Associations between sleep and CMD biomarkers (insulin resistance, systolic blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein [LDL] cholesterol) were measured using multivariate and quantile regression models.
  • The primary outcome was the association between sleep and CMD biomarkers, with additional examination of the potential effect of Hispanic ethnicity on this association.

TAKEAWAY:

  • In a multivariate analysis, longer sleep was significantly associated with LDL cholesterol in an adjusted model (estimate = 0.06), and poor sleep efficiency was associated with increased insulin resistance in an adjusted quantile model at the 90th percentile (estimate = 0.20).
  • Sleep quality based on self-reports showed no association with CMD outcomes.
  • Hispanic participants were more likely to have poor sleep efficiency than non-Hispanic participants (35.4% vs 26.5%; P = .01) and were significantly more likely to report poor sleep quality (13.0% vs 6.8%; P = .02).
  • Although previous research has shown an increased risk for poor sleep and worse CMD outcomes in Hispanic populations, the current study showed no effect of Hispanic ethnicity on the study outcome.

IN PRACTICE:

"Though no significant effect modification was detected based on Hispanic ethnicity, future studies should continue to investigate racial/ethnic disparities in sleep health and CMD, as these populations are disproportionately affected by inadequate sleep and negative CMD health outcomes," the researchers wrote.

SOURCE:

The lead author on the study was Steven Zamora, MPH, of Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. The study was published online in Sleep Advances on November 28, 2023.

LIMITATIONS:

The cross-sectional study design, relatively small sample size, and potential confounding variables including the use of blood pressure medications and statins were limiting factors.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

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