Poor sleep linked to heart disease
A misalignment of sleep timing is associated with metabolic risk factors that predispose to diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- They write: “Shift work, which imposes a habitual disruption in the circadian system, has been linked to increased incidence of cardiometabolic diseases, and acute circadian misalignment alters various metabolic processes.
- However, it remains unclear whether day-to-day circadian dysregulation contributes to these risks beyond poor sleep and other behavioral characteristics ”.
NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS that sleep changes on weekdays may raise the risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.
In the study, Social Jetlag, Chronotype, and Cardiometabolic Risk, a team of five researchers from America’s University of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine examined whether chronotype and or social jetlag associate with components of cardiovascular disease risk beyond the known effects of sleep disturbances, poor health behaviours, and depressive symptomatology.
They write: “Shift work, which imposes a habitual disruption in the circadian system, has been linked to increased incidence of cardiometabolic diseases, and acute circadian misalignment alters various metabolic processes. However, it remains unclear whether day-to-day circadian dysregulation contributes to these risks beyond poor sleep and other behavioral characteristics ”.
According to one of the researchers, Patricia M Wong of the University of Pittsburgh, social jetlag refers to the mismatch between an individual’s biological circadian rhythm and their socially imposed sleep schedules.
The team assessed sleep patterns and cardiometabolic risk in 447 men and women aged between 30 and 54 who worked at least 25 hours a week outside home.
They found that that SJL related to a lower high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level, higher triglycerides, higher fasting plasma insulin, insulin resistance and adiposity.
The researchers say: “Our findings suggest that a misalignment of sleep timing is associated with metabolic risk factors that predispose to diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease”.
The paper is in the US-based Endocrine Society’s The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
