Relationship between Duration of Sleep and Hypertension in Adults: A Meta-Analysis

Objectives: Epidemiologic studies have shown that chronic short sleep may be associated with the development of hypertension; however, the results are controversial. This meta-analysis was conducted to determine whether the duration of sleep is associated with hypertension. Methods: Reference databases (PubMed, EmBase, the Cochrane Library, Chinese Biological Medicine database) were searched for studies related to sleep duration and hypertension. Sleep duration categories (<= 5 h, 6 h, 7 h, 8 h, >= 9 h) and prevalence or incidence of hypertension in each sleep category were extracted. A general analysis and subgroup analyses stratified by gender, age, study design, and different definitions of sleep duration were conducted to evaluate the relationship between sleep duration and hypertension. Results: Thirteen articles out of a total of 1,628 articles involving 347,759 participants met the inclusion criteria. A U-shaped change in pooled odds ratios (ORs) for hypertension due to the change of sleep duration was observed. The unadjusted OR for hypertension of individuals who slept <= 5 h vs 7 h was 1.61, 95% CI = 1.28-2.02; those who slept >= 9 h vs 7 h was 1.29, 95% CI = 0.97-1.71. The pooled ORs were still significant after adjusted by age and gender. Women deprived of sleep ( sleep time = 5 h vs 7 h, OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.39-2.03) had a higher risk of hypertension than men (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 0.93-1.83). Conclusion: Excessively longer and shorter periods of sleep may both be risk factors for high blood pressure; these associations are stronger in women than men.