Rest/activity rhythms and cardiovascular disease in older men

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Misti L Paudel1, Brent C Taylor, Sonia Ancoli-Israel

  • 1Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA. ames0047@umn.edu

Chronobiology International
|April 2, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Disturbed circadian rest/activity rhythms (RARs) in older men are linked to increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Reduced rhythm robustness, indicated by lower amplitude and higher minimum activity, significantly elevates the risk of CVD events, particularly coronary heart disease and stroke.

Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Sleep Science

Background:

  • Prior research indicates a potential link between disrupted circadian rest/activity rhythms (RARs) and increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in older adults.
  • Understanding the specific associations between RARs and CVD events in aging male populations is crucial for preventative strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between disrupted circadian rest/activity rhythms (RARs) and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in older men.
  • To examine associations between specific RAR parameters and composite CVD outcomes, including coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and peripheral vascular disease (PVD).

Main Methods:

  • Utilized wrist actigraphy to objectively measure RARs in 2968 men aged 67 years and older over approximately 115 consecutive hours.
  • Calculated RAR parameters and categorized them into quartiles for association analysis with CVD events.
  • Defined CVD events as a composite outcome of CHD, stroke, and PVD, with secondary analyses for individual components.

Main Results:

  • Reduced amplitude and greater minimum activity in RARs were significantly associated with an increased risk of overall CVD events in multivariable-adjusted models.
  • Reduced amplitude and greater minimum activity were independently linked to a higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events.
  • Reduced F value and later acrophase of RARs were associated with an increased risk of peripheral vascular disease (PVD) events.

Conclusions:

  • Among older men, decreased robustness of circadian activity rhythms (lower amplitude, higher minimum activity) is associated with elevated CVD event risk, primarily driven by CHD and stroke.
  • While reduced rhythmicity was not linked to overall CVD risk, it showed an association with increased PVD risk.
  • Further research is needed to confirm these findings in diverse populations.

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