Insomnia with objective but not subjective short sleep duration is associated with incident cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular disease.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Insomnia with objective short sleep duration (ISSD) has been associated with cardiometabolic outcomes i.e., hypertension or diabetes. We examined whether ISSD, based on objective or subjective sleep measures are associated with more serious health problems such as incident cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular disease (CBVD).

METHODS: 1,258 men and women from the Penn State Adult Cohort (56.9% women, 48.3±12.95 years) without CBVD at baseline were followed up for 9.21±4.08 years. The presence of CBVD was defined as a history of diagnosis or treatment of heart disease and/or stroke. Insomnia was defined as a complaint of insomnia with a duration ≥ 1 year. Poor sleep was defined as a complaint of difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, nonrestorative sleep or early morning awakening. Objective short sleep duration was defined as <6-hours sleep based on polysomnography. Subjective short sleep duration was based on the median self-reported percentage of sleep time (i.e., <7 hours).

RESULTS: Compared to normal sleepers with normal sleep duration, the highest risk of incident CBVD was in the ISSD group (OR=2.46, 95%CI=1.04-5.79), and the second highest in normal sleepers with short sleep duration (OR=1.68, 95%CI=1.11-2.54). The risk for incident CBVD was not significantly increased in poor sleepers or those with insomnia with normal sleep duration (INSD). Finally, insomnia with subjective short sleep duration, was not associated with increased incident CBVD.

CONCLUSIONS: These data add to the cumulative evidence that ISSD, based on objective but not subjective measures, is the more severe biological phenotype of the disorder associated with incident CBVD.