Longer, poor sleep linked to higher arterial stiffness in hypertensive adults

Longer and poorer-quality sleep may promote higher brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) among patients with hypertension, a recent study suggests.

A total of 14,485 hypertensive adults (mean age, 64.4±7.4 years; 40.2 percent male) participated in the cross-sectional analysis. BaPWV was measured using a noninvasive vascular function analyser, and a value of ≥1,800 cm/s was deemed to indicate arterial stiffness. Sleep quality and duration were assessed through questionnaires.

The average baPWV in the overall cohort was 1,727.4±340.3. Participants were then grouped into three according to sleep duration: <5, 5–8, and ≥8 hours. Those who slept longer tended to be older, male, smokers, and drinkers.

In addition, multivariate analysis showed that adults who slept for ≥8 hours had significantly greater baPWV (β, 13.7 cm/s, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 3.9–23.5), as well as a nominally higher prevalence of arterial stiffness (odds ratio [OR], 1.08, 95 percent CI, 0.99–1.19), than their counterparts with <8 hours of sleep.

In terms of sleep quality, participants were also grouped into three (good, medium, poor). Those with poor sleep had greater baPWV (β, 16.3 cm/s, 95 percent CI, 0.1–32.6) and prevalence of arterial stiffness (OR, 1.13, 95 percent CI, 0.97–1.32), than adults with good/medium sleep.

Moreover, participants who slept for ≥8 hours and/or had poor sleep quality had significantly greater baPWV than comparators with <8-hour sleep duration and good/medium sleep quality (β, 14.4 cm/s, 95 percent CI, 5.3–23.4).