Long sleep duration may be associated with carotid plaque burden

1. In this cross-sectional analysis, long sleep duration (≥9 hours) was significantly associated with carotid plaque presence and larger total plaque area.

2. However, short sleep duration and daytime sleepiness showed no association with carotid plaque burden.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

Sleep is an essential part of cardiovascular health, as the American Heart Association outlines. Prior studies have indicated a relationship between sleep duration and stroke risk. However, the pathology behind this association has yet to be well studied. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the association between sleep duration and subclinical carotid plaque burden — a precursor of stroke.

This cross-sectional analysis was part of the Northern Manhattan Study that enlisted a cohort of 3,298 racially diverse participants between 1998 and 2001. To be included in the Northern Manhattan Study, participants had to be 39 years or older, have no history of stroke, and have been residing in Manhattan for three or more months. The cross-sectional analysis was conducted on the 1553 participants with data available regarding carotid intima-media thickness, plaque presence, total plaque area, sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness. A carotid ultrasound was performed to determine carotid plaque burden, and information on sleep duration and daytime sleepiness were determined through annual questionnaires from 2004 to 2011. Participants were divided into groups based on sleep duration as either short (<7 hours), intermediate (≥ 7 and <9 hours), or long (≥9 hours). The primary outcome was the association between sleep duration and carotid plaque burden.

The results demonstrated that long sleep duration was significantly associated with carotid plaque presence and larger total plaque area. Meanwhile, short sleep duration and daytime sleepiness were not associated with plaque presence or total plaque area. Despite these findings, the study was limited by its cross-sectional nature, which prevented the analysis of causality between sleep duration and carotid plaque burden. Nonetheless, the study demonstrated that long sleep duration may affect a person’s carotid plaque burden.

Click to read the study in Stroke

Image: PD

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