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Teens With Low Sleep Efficiency at Risk for Hypertension, Cardiovascular Disease DALLAS -- August 18, 2008 -- Teenagers who don't sleep well or long enough may have a higher risk of elevated blood pressure that could lead to cardiovascular disease later in life, according to a study in Circulation. Researchers found the odds of elevated blood pressure increased 3.5 times for those with low sleep efficiency and 2.5 times for those with sleeping periods of less than 6.5 hours, even after adjusting for gender, body mass index, and socioeconomic status. Adolescents with low sleep efficiency had an average 4 mm Hg higher systolic blood pressure compared to children with higher sleep efficiency. The study involved a total of 238 healthy adolescents (123 boys, 115 girls) aged 13 to 16 years. "Our study underscores the high rate of poor quality and inadequate sleep in adolescence coupled with the risk of developing high blood pressure and other health problems," said senior author Susan Redline, MD, University Hospitals Sleep Center at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. "We also found that low sleep efficiency may be more consistently associated with prehypertension than a shorter sleep period." Researchers discovered that 14% of the adolescents had prehypertension or hypertension with blood pressures in the 90th percentile for their height, age, and gender. Of the participants, 26% had low sleep efficiency and 11% had extremely short durations of sleep lasting less than 6.5 hrs. Nearly two-thirds of the adolescents with short sleep duration also had low sleep efficiency, while 27.9% of adolescents with low sleep efficiency also had short sleep duration. Researchers measured participants' wrist movements at home for 5 to 7 days and participants completed a daily sleep log to provide estimates of sleep patterns. They also measured sleep quality in a sleep laboratory and took 9 blood pressure readings in a 2-day period. Participants with less than 85% sleep efficiency in the lab had nearly 3 times the odds of elevated high blood pressure. "These associations may have a large public health impact," said Dr. Redline. "Although the overall frequency of sleep insufficiency in children is unknown, our study's prevalence of 26% may be underestimated due to the exclusion of children with known sleep disorders and other illnesses." "Meanwhile, paediatricians should view sleep quality and patterns as an intervenable health concern," said Dr. Redline. "Our data underscores the need to monitor quality and quantity of sleep as part of a child's overall health strategy." SOURCE: American Heart Association E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version