Sleep Irregularity Linked to Subclinical Atherosclerosis

A US cross sectional and observational cohort study indicated that sleep irregularity was associated with several markers of subclinical atherosclerosis. The study included 2032 participants (mean age, 68.6±9.2 years; White 37.9%, Chinese 11.1%, Black 27.6%, Hispanic 23.4%) underwent assessments of coronary artery calcium, carotid plaque presence, carotid intima‐media thickness, and the ankle‐brachial index. Sleep regularity was quantified by the 7‐day with‐in person SD of sleep duration and sleep onset timing according to wrist actigraphy. Compared with participants with more regular sleep durations (SD ≤60 minutes), participants with greater sleep duration irregularity (SD >120 minutes) were more likely to have high coronary artery calcium burden (>300; prevalence ratio, 1.33) and abnormal ankle‐brachial index (<0.9; prevalence ratio, 1.75). Compared with participants with more regular sleep timing (SD ≤30 minutes), participants with irregular sleep timing (SD >90 minutes) were more likely to have high coronary artery calcium burden (prevalence ratio, 1.39). Associations persisted after adjustment for cardiovascular disease risk factors, average sleep duration, severe obstructive sleep apnea, and sleep fragmentation. Previous findings from the same cohort include the association of severe obstructive sleep apnea with prevalent high coronary artery calcium burden, and associations between short (<6 hours) and long (>8 hours) sleep durations with an abnormal ankle‐brachial index. The findings suggest that sleep regularity may be important for cardiovascular health. Maintaining regular sleep schedules with consistent sleep durations is a key component of clinical sleep hygiene recommendations. Source: https://www.ahajournals.org/ https://www.ahajournals.org/