Gender-specific associations of sleep duration with uncontrolled blood pressure in middle-aged patients

Experimental sleep restriction causes impaired glucose tolerance (IGT); however, little is known about the metabolic effects of habitual sleep restriction. We assessed the cross-sectional relation of usual sleep time to diabetes mellitus (DM) and IGT among participants in the Sleep Heart Health Study, a community-based prospective study of the cardiovascular consequences of sleep-disordered breathing. Participants were 722 men and 764 women, aged 53 to 93 years. Usual sleep time was obtained by standardized questionnaire. Diabetes mellitus was defined as a serum glucose level of 126 mg/dL or more (> or =7.0 mmol/L) fasting or 200 mg/dL or more (> or =11.1 mmol/L) 2 hours following standard oral glucose challenge or medication use for DM. Impaired glucose tolerance was defined as a 2-hour postchallenge glucose level of 140 mg/dL or more (> or =7.8 mmol/L) and less than 200 mg/dL. The relation of sleep time to DM and IGT was examined using categorical logistic regression with adjustment for age, sex, race, body habitus, and apnea-hypopnea index. The median sleep time was 7 hours per night, with 27.1% of subjects sleeping 6 hours or less per night. Compared with those sleeping 7 to 8 hours per night, subjects sleeping 5 hours or less and 6 hours per night had adjusted odds ratios for DM of 2.51 (95% confidence interval, 1.57-4.02) and 1.66 (95% confidence interval, 1.15-2.39), respectively. Adjusted odds ratios for IGT were 1.33 (95% confidence interval, 0.83-2.15) and 1.58 (95% confidence interval, 1.15-2.18), respectively. Subjects sleeping 9 hours or more per night also had increased odds ratios for DM and IGT. These associations persisted when subjects with insomnia symptoms were excluded. A sleep duration of 6 hours or less or 9 hours or more is associated with increased prevalence of DM and IGT. Because this effect was present in subjects without insomnia, voluntary sleep restriction may contribute to the large public health burden of DM.

To estimate the impact of small reductions in the population distribution of diastolic blood pressure (DBP), such as those potentially achievable by population-wide lifestyle modification, on incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. Published data from the Framingham Heart Study, a longitudinal cohort study, and from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey II, a national population survey, were used to examine the impact of a population-wide strategy aimed at reducing DBP by an average of 2 mm Hg in a population including normotensive subjects. White men and women aged 35 to 64 years in the United States. Incidence of CHD and stroke, including transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). Data from overviews of observational studies and randomized trials suggest that a 2-mm Hg reduction in DBP would result in a 17% decrease in the prevalence of hypertension as well as a 6% reduction in the risk of CHD and a 15% reduction in risk of stroke and TIAs. From an application of these results to US white men and women aged 35 to 64 years, it is estimated that a successful population intervention alone could reduce CHD incidence more than could medical treatment for all those with a DBP of 95 mm Hg or higher. It could prevent 84% of the number prevented by medical treatment for all those with a DBP of 90 mm Hg or higher. For stroke (including TIAs), a population-wide 2-mm Hg reduction could prevent 93% of events prevented by medical treatment for those with a DBP of 95 mm Hg or higher and 69% of events for treatment for those with a DBP of 90 mm Hg or higher. A combination strategy of both a population reduction in DBP and targeted medical intervention is most effective and could double or triple the impact of medical treatment alone. Adding a population-based intervention to existing levels of hypertension treatment could prevent an estimated additional 67,000 CHD events (6%) and 34,000 stroke and TIA events (13%) annually among all those aged 35 to 64 years in the United States. A small reduction of 2 mm Hg in DBP in the mean of the population distribution, in addition to medical treatment, could have a great public health impact on the number of CHD and stroke events prevented. Whether such DBP reductions can be achieved in the population through lifestyle interventions, in particular through sodium reduction, depends on the results of ongoing primary prevention trials as well as the cooperation of the food industry, government agencies, and health education professionals.

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and distribution of hypertension and to determine the status of hypertension awareness, treatment, and control in the general adult population in China. The International Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Disease in ASIA (InterASIA), conducted in 2000-2001, used a multistage cluster sampling method to select a nationally representative sample. A total of 15 540 adults, age 35 to 74 years, were examined. Three blood pressure measurements were obtained by trained observers by use of a standardized mercury sphygmomanometer after a 5-minute sitting rest. Information on history of hypertension and use of antihypertensive medications was obtained by use of a standard questionnaire. Hypertension was defined as a mean systolic blood pressure > or =140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure > or =90 mm Hg, and/or use of antihypertensive medications. Overall, 27.2% of the Chinese adult population age 35 to 74 years, representing 129 824 000 persons, had hypertension. The age-specific prevalence of hypertension was 17.4%, 28.2%, 40.7%, and 47.3% in men and 10.7%, 26.8%, 38.9%, and 50.2% in women age 35 to 44 years, 45 to 54 years, 55 to 64 years, and 65 to 74 years, respectively. Among hypertensive patients, only 44.7% were aware of their high blood pressure, 28.2% were taking antihypertensive medication, and 8.1% achieved blood pressure control (<140/90 mm Hg). Our results indicate that hypertension is highly prevalent in China. The percentages of those with hypertension who are aware, treated, and controlled are unacceptably low. These results underscore the urgent need to develop national strategies to improve prevention, detection, and treatment of hypertension in China.