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Published on: September 15, 2017
Sleep, inflammation and cardiovascular disease.
David E Solarz1, Janet M Mullington, Hans K Meier-Ewert
1Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord Street C8, Boston MA 02111, USA.
Frontiers in Bioscience (Elite Edition)
|June 2, 2012
Summary
Short sleep duration is linked to increased cardiovascular disease risk. Further research is needed to clarify the role of inflammation and confounding factors in this relationship.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular disease research
- Sleep science
- Inflammation and health
Background:
- Prospective cohort studies indicate a link between insufficient or disturbed sleep and increased overall and cardiovascular morbidity.
- Inflammation is a known mechanism in arteriosclerotic heart and vascular disease development.
- Inflammation is a potential mediator connecting short sleep duration to cardiovascular disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relationship between sleep duration and inflammatory markers.
- To investigate the confounding factors influencing the association between self-reported short sleep and cardiac morbidity.
- To identify research methodologies for better characterizing the health benefits of adequate sleep.
Main Methods:
- Review of data from prospective cohort studies on self-reported sleep and health outcomes.
- Analysis of experimental sleep deprivation studies.
- Consideration of psychological and socioeconomic confounding variables.
Main Results:
- Experimental sleep deprivation increases measures of inflammation.
- The relationship between sleep duration and inflammatory markers in cohort studies is less clear.
- The association between self-reported short sleep and cardiac morbidity is confounded by psychological and socioeconomic factors.
Conclusions:
- More research is required to fully elucidate the link between short sleep duration and cardiac morbidity.
- Experimental studies involving sleep deprivation and sleep extension are needed.
- Future prospective cohort studies should incorporate objective sleep measures and control for confounding variables.
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