Sex-specific associations between extreme sleep duration and prevalence of cardio-cerebral vascular disease: a community-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

Most previous studies on sleep duration and cardio-cerebral vascular disease (CCVD) association have not adequately controlled for many confounders. The current study prospectively examined the association of sleep duration with CCVD prevalence in a Chinese community population; cardiovascular risk factors, chronic diseases, and sleep quality were taken into consideration.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study conducted in Pudong New Area of Shanghai, China. Through three-stage sampling, 10,657 adults aged ≥15 years were randomly selected. Self-reported sleep duration and CCVD prevalence were obtained using a structured questionnaire. Medical records of the subjects were reviewed by investigators for further confirmation. Relationships between sleep duration and CCVD prevalence were examined using logistic regression models.

RESULTS

Compared to midrange sleep duration (7 h), the multivariate-adjusted OR of CCVD prevalence was 1.550 (95% CI 1.192-2.017) for sleeping 5 h, 1.427 (95% CI 0.983-2.072) for sleeping <5 h. A similar situation also prevailed in coronary heart disease (CHD) prevalence: the multivariate-adjusted OR of stroke prevalence was 2.130 (95% CI 1.338-3.389) for sleeping >9 h. In an analysis stratified by sex, participants with a long sleep duration (>9 h) demonstrated significantly increased prevalence (OR = 3.623, 95% CI 1.862-7.052) for stroke only in men.

CONCLUSIONS

The relationship between extreme sleep durations and CCVD were influenced by sex in a Chinese community population. Further studies are needed to investigate the mechanisms of the association between extreme sleep duration and CCVD, as well as sex-specificity in the relationship.