Association between sleep patterns and galectin-3 in a Chinese community population

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Disease Research
• Sleep Medicine
• Inflammation Biomarkers

Background:

• Irregular sleep patterns are increasingly linked to systemic inflammation.
• Galectin-3 is recognized as a novel biomarker with a significant role in inflammatory processes.
• Understanding the interplay between sleep and inflammation is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between sleep patterns and galectin-3 levels in a Chinese population.
• To determine if sleep disturbance is associated with elevated galectin-3.
• To explore associations with specific sleep parameters like duration and napping.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 1,058 participants from the Shenzhen-Hong Kong United Network on Cardiovascular Disease study.
• Used age and sex-adjusted linear regression for galectin-3 and metabolic biomarkers.
• Employed logistic regression to assess sleep disturbance, nighttime sleep, and daytime napping against elevated galectin-3 (defined as >65.1 ng/ml).

Main Results:

• Sleep disturbance showed a significant association with elevated galectin-3 (OR, 1.68 [95% CI, 1.05–2.68]), independent of metabolic factors.
• Waist circumference, triglycerides, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were positively correlated with galectin-3.
• No significant association was found between nighttime sleep duration or daytime napping and elevated galectin-3.

Conclusions:

• Sleep disturbance is significantly associated with elevated galectin-3 levels, independent of traditional metabolic biomarkers.
• This finding highlights a potential pathway linking poor sleep to inflammation.
• Targeting galectin-3 may offer a strategy for preventing inflammatory diseases associated with sleep disturbance.