Gender-Specific Associations of Short Sleep Duration With Prevalent and Incident Hypertension

Sleep deprivation (or=140/90 mm Hg or regular use of antihypertensive medications. In cross-sectional analyses at phase 5 (n=5766), short duration of sleep (<or=5 hour per night) was associated with higher risk of hypertension compared with the group sleeping 7 hours, among women (odds ratio: 1.72corrected; 95% CI: 1.07corrected to 2.75corrected), independent of confounders, with an inverse linear trend across decreasing hours of sleep (P=0.037corrected). No association was detected in men. In prospective analyses (mean follow-up: 5 years), the cumulative incidence of hypertension was 20.0% (n=740) among 3691 normotensive individuals at phase 5. In women, short duration of sleep was associated with a higher risk of hypertension in a reduced model (age and employment) (6 hours per night: odds ratio: 1.56 95% CI: 1.07 to 2.27; <or=5 hour per night: odds ratio: 1.94 95% CI: 1.08 to 3.50 versus 7 hours). The associations were attenuated after accounting for cardiovascular risk factors and psychiatric comorbidities (odds ratio: 1.42 95% CI: 0.94 to 2.16; odds ratio: 1.31 95% CI: 0.65 to 2.63, respectively). Sleep deprivation may produce detrimental cardiovascular effects among women.