Irregular sleep may elevate risk of major cardiovascular events

People with an SRI score of more than 87 were considered to have a regular sleep pattern, while those with an SRI score of less than 72 were categorised as irregular sleepers. And those whose scores fell between this range were regarded as moderately irregular sleepers.

Incidents of cardiovascular death, heart attack, heart failure, and stroke over the next 8 years were collected from death registries and hospital records and used to calculate the risk of these events for each sleep pattern group.

More detailed analysis of the data showed that the relationship between decreasing SRI score and higher risk of events was almost linear, with a steeper reduction in risk at higher (better) SRI scores.

The recommended amount of nightly sleep is 7 to 9 hours for 18 to 64 year olds and 7 to 8 hours for those aged 65 and above. A greater proportion of regular sleepers met the recommended sleep quota than irregular sleepers: 61% vs 48%.

But the researchers nevertheless conclude that the findings suggest that irregular sleep is strongly associated with a risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in adults, irrespective of whether or not recommended sleep quotas are met.

"More importantly, our results suggest that sleep regularity may be more relevant than sufficient sleep duration in modulating MACE [major adverse cardiovascular event] risk," they say.

Source:

BMJ Group

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