Relationship between sleep duration and hypertension in northeast China: a cross-sectional study

Previous studies have reported that sleep duration might increase the risk of hypertension. However, the results have been conflicting. We investigated whether sleep duration is independently associated with hypertension. We aimed to assess the relationship between sleep duration and hypertension in a population-based cross-sectional study.

In this study we used multistage stratified cluster sampling. A total of 19 407 adults aged 18-79 years were enrolled in the study. The participants were divided into three groups (<7 hours/day, 7-8 hours/day and >8 hours/day) according to self-reported sleep duration. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg or the use of anti-hypertensive medications. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to determine the association between hypertension and sleep duration adjusted for sociodemographic, body mass index, and lifestyle covariates.

The overall prevalence of hypertension was 32.6%. Among participants aged 18-44 years, individuals sleeping less than 7 hours per day had a higher risk of hypertension (OR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.46), compared with those who slept 7-8 hours per day. There were no significant associations between sleep duration and hypertension in the total sample, among middle-aged adults (45-59 years) or older adults (60-79 years).

Our study demonstrates that short sleep duration was significantly associated with hypertension among people aged 18-44 years in northeast China.