Association between sleep-related disorders and hypertension in postmenopausal women from the United States

A notable research gap persists regarding the association between sleep-related disorders and hypertension risk in postmenopausal women in the United States, which this study aimed to address .

Data from 3,560 naturally postmenopausal women were analyzed using 6 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2018. Logistic regression models were employed to assess the relationships between sleep duration, trouble sleeping, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) symptoms with hypertension. Restricted cubic splines were used to identify nonlinear associations between sleep duration and hypertension. Finally, stratified analyses were taken to explore the associations between sleep-related disorders and hypertension across various subgroups based on health-related factors.

Trouble sleeping and OSA were associated with an increased odds of hypertension in postmenopausal women (trouble sleeping: odds ratio = 1.61, 95% CI, 1.28-2.02; OSA: odds ratio = 1.63, 95% CI, 1.13-2.37). In addition, a U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and hypertension was identified ( P for overall = 0.0007, P for nonlinear = 0.0002), indicating that both insufficient and excessive sleep increased the odds of hypertension. Subgroup analysis revealed that body mass index moderated these associations (trouble sleeping: P for interaction = 0.038; OSA: P for interaction = 0.044), with stronger effects observed in obese women.

Sleep-related disorders are significantly associated with hypertension in postmenopausal women in the United States. Our findings emphasized the importance of sleep health and weight management in the management of hypertension in this population.