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The impact of sleeping duration on atherosclerosis in the community: insights from the Corinthia study

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Sleep is an essential physiologic process whose disturbances have been regarded as a risk factor in various pathophysiologic processes, including atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Although the negative influence of short sleep duration has been well-established, recent data suggest a possible harmful effect of prolonged sleeping pattern.

Methods

In the setting of the Corinthia cross-sectional study, self-reported night sleep duration was recorded in 1752 apparently healthy individuals and was classified as normal sleep duration (NSD, 7–8 h), short sleep duration (SSD, 6–7 h), very short sleep duration (VSSD, < 6 h), and long sleep duration (LSD, > 8 h). Carotid duplex ultrasonography was performed in order to measure the mean and maximum carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) as a non-invasive marker of atherosclerosis.

Results

Subjects with LSD and VSSD had significantly higher mean cIMT (VSSD: 1.02 ± 0.45 mm, SSD: 0.95 ± 0.35, NSD: 0.96 ± 0.38 mm, LSD: 1.07 ± 0.52 mm; p < 0.001) and maximum cIMT (VSSD: 1.39 ± 0.9 mm, SSD: 1.25 ± 0.71 mm, NSD: 1.23 ± 0.76 mm, LSD: 1.41 ± 0.93 mm). Following a regression analysis adjusting for known cardiovascular risk factors, individuals with LSD and VSSD had higher mean cIMT by 0.054 mm and 0.067 mm respectively compared to those with NSD.

Conclusion

A balanced sleeping duration of 6–8 h is associated with decreased mean and maximum IMT while both very short sleep duration and long sleep duration are associated with increased carotid intima-media thickness, a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to confidentiality but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Evangelos Oikonomou and Panagiotis Theofilis contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1st Cardiology Clinic, ‘Hippokration’ General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Vasilissis Sofias 114, 115 28, Athens, Greece

    Evangelos Oikonomou, Panagiotis Theofilis, Georgia Vogiatzi, George Lazaros, Sotirios Tsalamandris, Vasiliki Chara Mystakidi, Athina Goliopoulou, Maria Anastasiou, Petros Fountoulakis, Christos Chasikidis, Evangelia Christoforatou & Dimitris Tousoulis

Authors
  1. Evangelos Oikonomou
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  2. Panagiotis Theofilis
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  3. Georgia Vogiatzi
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  4. George Lazaros
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  5. Sotirios Tsalamandris
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  6. Vasiliki Chara Mystakidi
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  7. Athina Goliopoulou
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  8. Maria Anastasiou
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  10. Christos Chasikidis
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  11. Evangelia Christoforatou
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  12. Dimitris Tousoulis
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Contributions

EO, PT, and GL contributed to the conception and design of the work and to the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for the work. GV, ST, and VM drafted the manuscript. AG, MA, PT, CC, and EC critically revised the manuscript. DT contributed to the conception and design of the work and critically revised the manuscript. All gave final approval and agree to be accountable for all aspects of work ensuring integrity and accuracy.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Georgia Vogiatzi.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Oikonomou, E., Theofilis, P., Vogiatzi, G. et al. The impact of sleeping duration on atherosclerosis in the community: insights from the Corinthia study. Sleep Breath 25, 1813–1819 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-020-02267-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-020-02267-y

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