Shafer Brooke M, Kogan Sophia A, Rice Sean P M, Shea Steven A, Olson Ryan, McHill Andrew W
Sleep, Chronobiology, and Health Laboratory, School of Nursing, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2025 Apr 22;110(5):e1351-e1357. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgae580.
Circadian disruption promotes weight gain and poor health. The extent to which sex plays a role in the relationship between the circadian timing of behaviors and health outcomes in individuals with overweight/obesity is unclear.
We investigated the sex-specific associations between circadian alignment and cardiometabolic health markers in females and males with overweight/obesity.
Thirty volunteers with overweight/obesity (15 female; body mass index ≥25.1 kg/m2) underwent an evening in-laboratory assessment for dim-light melatonin onset (DLMO), body composition via dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, and a fasted blood sample. Circadian alignment was determined as the time difference between DLMO and average sleep onset over 7 days (phase angle), with participants categorized into narrow/wide phase angle groups based on median phase angle split. Due to known differences in metabolic markers between sexes, participants were subdivided based on sex into narrow and wide phase angle groups.
Males in the narrow phase angle group had higher android/gynoid body fat distribution, triglycerides, and metabolic syndrome risk scores, while females had higher overall body fat percentage, glucose, and resting heart rates (all P < .04). Furthermore, a narrower phase angle in males was negatively associated with android/gynoid body fat (r = -0.53, P = .04) and negatively associated with body fat (r = -0.62, P = .01) and heart rate (r = -0.73, P < .01) in females.
Circadian disruption may not only promote a trajectory of weight gain but could also contribute to negative health consequences in a sex-dependent manner in those already with overweight/obesity. These data may have implications for clinical utility in sex-specific sleep and circadian interventions for adults with overweight/obesity.
昼夜节律紊乱会导致体重增加和健康状况不佳。在超重/肥胖个体中，性别在行为的昼夜节律时间与健康结果之间的关系中所起的作用尚不清楚。
我们研究了超重/肥胖的男性和女性中昼夜节律同步与心脏代谢健康指标之间的性别特异性关联。
30名超重/肥胖志愿者（15名女性；体重指数≥25.1 kg/m2）在实验室接受了夜间评估，包括暗光褪黑素开始分泌时间（DLMO）、通过双能X线吸收法测量身体成分以及采集空腹血样。昼夜节律同步被确定为DLMO与7天内平均入睡时间之间的时间差（相位角），参与者根据中位数相位角划分被分为窄/宽相位角组。由于已知性别之间代谢指标存在差异，参与者按性别细分为窄相位角组和宽相位角组。
窄相位角组的男性具有更高的腹部/臀部脂肪分布、甘油三酯和代谢综合征风险评分，而女性具有更高的总体脂肪百分比、血糖和静息心率（所有P < .04）。此外，男性中较窄的相位角与腹部/臀部脂肪呈负相关（r = -0.53，P = .04），与女性的体脂呈负相关（r = -0.62，P = .01）以及与心率呈负相关（r = -0.73，P < .01）。
昼夜节律紊乱不仅可能促进体重增加的轨迹，还可能以性别依赖的方式对已经超重/肥胖的人群产生负面健康影响。这些数据可能对超重/肥胖成年人的性别特异性睡眠和昼夜节律干预的临床应用具有启示意义。
