Chronic Low Sleep Deprivation may increase risk of SLE, finds study

The latest research revealed that Chronic low sleep duration was associated with an increased risk of developing Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. The effect is stronger among those with bodily pain and depression. The study was published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.  

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks its tissues. The risk of developing autoimmune diseases has been linked to Sleep deprivation. So, researchers conducted a study to find out if sleep deprivation was associated with the risk of developing SLE using the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) (1986-2016) and NHSII (1989-2017) cohorts. 

Average sleep duration in a 24-hour period was reported in the NHS (1986-2014) and NHSII (1989-2009). Using biennial questionnaires information on Lifestyle, exposure, and medical information was collected. The association between cumulative average sleep duration (categorical variables) and incident SLE was analyzed by the Adjusted Cox regression analyses model. Interactions between sleep duration and shiftwork, bodily pain (Short-Form 36 questionnaire, SF-36), and depression were examined.  

Results

• 186,072 women with 187 incident SLE cases during 4,246,094 person-years of follow-up were included.
• Chronic low sleep duration which is ≤5 hours/night vs reference >7-8 hours was associated with increased SLE risk, which persisted after the analysis was lagged and adjusted for shiftwork, bodily pain, and depression.
• additive interactions between low sleep duration and high bodily pain (SF-36 <75) with an attributable proportion (AP) of 64% and an HR for SLE of 2.97 for those with both risk factors compared to those with neither. 
• Similarly, there was an interaction between low sleep duration and depression with an AP of 68% and an HR for SLE of 2.82. 

Thus, the researchers highlighted the potential role of adequate sleep for disease prevention and found that chronic low sleep duration was associated with higher SLE risk, and they also added that the effect was stronger among those with bodily pain and depression. 

To read the full article, click here:  https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.25017 

Choi MY, Malspeis S, Sparks JA, Cui J, Yoshida K, Costenbader KH. Association of Sleep Deprivation and the Risk of Developing Systemic Lupus Erythematosus among Women [published online ahead of print, 2022 Sep 12]. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2022;10.1002/acr.25017.