Association Between Sleep Duration and Related Risk Factors with Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a global health problem that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and all-cause mortality. We aimed to investigate the association between sleep duration and related risk factors with the development of MetS: A systematic review and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies.

We systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, Scopus, and ProQuest for observational studies that enrolled adults without MetS at baseline. We investigated the association between sleep duration or insomnia and MetS through adjusted analysis. We pooled association estimates for all independent variables and presented both proportion and absolute risks for MetS.

After screening records, 26 observational studies with a total population of 279,571 met our criteria. Our meta-analyses showed male sex (absolute risk increase (ARI): 144 more, 95% CI: 116 to 173 more in 1000 participants), short sleep duration of ≤ 6 hours (ARI: 62 more, 95% CI: 38 to 88 more in 1000 participants), insomnia (ARI: 57 more, 95% CI: 12 to 112 more in 1000 participants), and difficulty maintaining sleep (ARI: 30 more, 95% CI: 1 to 63 more in 1000 participants) may be associated with an increased likelihood of MetS. Regular exercise (absolute risk decrease (ARD): 20 fewer, 95% CI: 3 to 36 fewer in 1000 participants) and vegetable intake (ARD: 57 fewer, 95% CI: 25 to 81 fewer in 1000) may be associated with decreased likelihood of MetS.

Adequate sleep, improved sleep patterns, regular exercise, and increased vegetable intake have a substantial impact on MetS prevention.