Domínguez F, et al. - In this study involving an asymptomatic middle-aged population, researchers studied the link between actigraphy-measured sleep parameters and subclinical atherosclerosis. They also focused on the interactions among sleep, conventional risk factors, psychosocial factors, dietary habits, and inflammation. Overall, the investigators observed an increased risk of subclinical multi-territory atherosclerosis among those with lower sleeping times and fragmented sleep. This was an independent association that highlights the importance of healthy sleep habits for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Methods

• This study included 3,974 participants (age 45.8 ± 4.3 years; 62.6% men) from the Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis (PESA) study, among whom the investigators performed 7-day actigraphic recording.
• Participants were divided into four groups: very short sleep duration (< 6 hours), short sleep duration (6-7 hours), reference sleep duration (7-8 hours), and long sleep duration (> 8 hours).
• They defined sleep fragmentation index as the sum of the movement index and fragmentation index.
• The researchers quantified noncoronary atherosclerosis and coronary calcification by performing carotid and femoral 3-dimensional vascular ultrasound and cardiac computed tomography.

Results

• Very short sleep duration was independently related to a higher atherosclerotic burden with 3-dimensional vascular ultrasound vs reference sleep duration, after adjusting for conventional risk factors (odds ratio: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.06-1.52; P=0.008).
• A higher prevalence of multiple affected noncoronary territories was observed among study participants within the highest quintile of sleep fragmentation (odds ratio: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.09-1.64; P=0.006).
• Different sleep groups did not differ with respect to coronary artery calcification score.