The role of sleep and heart rate variability in metabolic syndrome: evidence from the Midlife in the United States study

Abstract

Study Objectives Poor sleep and autonomic dysregulation can both disrupt metabolic processes. This study examined the individual and combined effects of poor sleep and reduced heart rate variability (HRV) on metabolic syndrome among 966 participants in the Midlife in The United States II study (MIDUS II). Methods Self-reported sleep was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). HRV was acquired from 11-minute resting heart rate recordings. Spearman correlations, general linear regression, and logistic regression models were used to examine the study hypotheses. Results Poor sleep quality was associated with metabolic syndrome when global PSQI scores were evaluated as a continuous (odds ratio [OR]: 1.07, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.11) or categorical measure (cut-off >5, OR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.19-2.10), after adjustment for confounding. There also was an association between reduced HRV and metabolic syndrome (ln [HF-HRV] OR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.80-0.99; ln [LF-HRV] OR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.72-0.92; ln [SDRR] OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.43-0.79; ln [RMSSD] OR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.60-0.94). When the combined effects of poor sleep and low HRV were examined, the association with metabolic syndrome was further strengthened relative to those with normal sleep and HRV. Conclusion To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to suggest a combined effect of poor sleep and low HRV on the odds of metabolic syndrome.

Sleep disorders and cancer incidence: examining duration and severity of diagnosis among veterans

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Heart Rate Variability and Cognition: A Narrative Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies

“…Given the importance of HRV methodology and the fact that most studies were large-scale epidemiological ones, if specific details of HRV methodology were not directly mentioned in the original article they were retrieved, when possible, from study protocol documentation or related publications from the same wave of the study. This is indicated by a superscript letter in the relevant Tables ( Table 1 and Supplementary Table S1 , superscript letters c and a respectively) and the additional references used for each study are provided in Supplementary Table S2 [ 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ].…”

Pulse Proteins and Their Hydrolysates: A Comprehensive Review of Their Beneficial Effects on Metabolic Syndrome and the Gut Microbiome

“…The global epidemic of MetS has become a significant public health problem of worldwide concern [ 2 ]. MetS is typically characterized by a complex combination of risk factors, including hypertension, hyperglycemia (impaired glucose tolerance), dyslipidemia and abdominal obesity [ 3 ], which might significantly increase the risk for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. In addition, patients with MetS may have disturbances in the gut microbiome, including decreased beneficial microbes and increased harmful ones [ 4 ].…”