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Sleep Quality is associated with Central Arterial Stiffness in Postmenopausal Women: A Cross-sectional Pilot Study

Artery Research volume 27, pages 14–19 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the associations between sleep quality and arterial stiffness in healthy postmenopausal women. A total of 31 healthy postmenopausal women aged between 50 and 74 years participated in this study. Objectively and subjectively measured sleep quantity and quality were concomitantly obtained by a waist-worn actigraphy, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire, and daily sleep diary. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV), and femoral-ankle PWV (faPWV) were measured as indices of arterial stiffness. Based on the PSQI score, the participants were divided into good (PSQI < 5.5; n = 21) and poor (PSQI > 5.5; n = 10) sleepers. Self-reported sleep duration was significantly longer in poor sleepers than in good sleepers. However, there was no difference in total sleep time measured by actigraphy between the two groups. Additionally, sleep latency and wake after sleep onset significantly increased, and sleep efficiency significantly decreased in poor sleepers than in good sleepers. The cfPWV and baPWV were significantly higher in poor sleepers than in good sleepers, even after adjustment for risk factors (i.e., age, blood pressure, and physical activity), but no difference in faPWV. These results suggest that decreased sleep quality is associated with an increase in central arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health and Sport Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan

    Youngju Choi, Nobuhiko Akazawa, Asako Zempo-Miyaki, Song-Gyu Ra & Seiji Maeda

  2. Institute of Sports & Arts Convergence, Inha University, Korea

    Youngju Choi

  3. Department of Sports Research, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Tokyo, Japan

    Nobuhiko Akazawa

  4. Faculty of Sports and Health Sciences, Ryutsu Keizai University, Ryugasaki, Japan

    Asako Zempo-Miyaki

  5. Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan

    Song-Gyu Ra

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  1. Youngju Choi
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  2. Nobuhiko Akazawa
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  3. Asako Zempo-Miyaki
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  4. Song-Gyu Ra
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  5. Seiji Maeda
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Correspondence to Seiji Maeda.

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Peer review under responsibility of the Association for Research into Arterial Structure and Physiology

Data availability statement: The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

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Choi, Y., Akazawa, N., Zempo-Miyaki, A. et al. Sleep Quality is associated with Central Arterial Stiffness in Postmenopausal Women: A Cross-sectional Pilot Study. Artery Res 27, 14–19 (2021). https://doi.org/10.2991/artres.k.201004.001

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/artres.k.201004.001

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Artery Research

ISSN: 1876-4401

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