Persistently short sleep during and after pregnancy associated with cardiometabolic diseases: JAMA

A new study published in the Journal of American Medical Association showed that negative cardiometabolic outcomes were linked to shorter sleep duration that continued from pregnancy to 2 to 7 years after delivery. Poor cardiometabolic outcomes have been linked to short sleep duration during pregnancy and the perimenopausal stage. It is still unknown, though, how much sleep a woman needs after giving birth and whether these variations are related to her cardiometabolic health.

To find out if chronically inadequate sleep during pregnancy and after delivery is linked to incident hypertension and metabolic syndrome, Minjee Kim and her team carried out this study. This secondary analysis was carried out at 8 US academic medical centers between September 5, 2023, and March 1, 2024 as part of the ongoing prospective cohort study known as the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-Be Heart Health Study (NuMoM2b-HHS).

The participants were recruited during their first pregnancy between October 1, 2010, and September 30, 2013, and they were followed up for a mean (SD) of 3.1 (0.9) years following delivery. They had to be at least 18 years old at the time of NuMoM2b participation. This exposure of this study included self-reported short sleep duration (less than 7 hours) during pregnancy, and persistent short sleep was defined as lasting 2 to 7 years after birth.

Incident hypertension and metabolic syndrome (MetS) at follow-up. Regression models were used to estimate relative risks of incident hypertension and MetS by sleep duration pattern. Hypertension analyses excluded participants with hypertension at baseline, and MetS analyses excluded participants with MetS at baseline. Multivariable models included a priori covariates of baseline age and time from delivery to follow-up. Incident hypertension analyses included an additional covariate of body mass index at baseline.

Among 3922 participants (mean [SD] age, 27.3 [5.4] years; 598 Hispanic [15.2%], 485 non-Hispanic Black [12.4%], and 2542 non-Hispanic White [64.8%]), 565 individuals (14.4%) experienced persistent short sleep. Non-Hispanic black and unmarried participants were significantly more likely to experience persistent short sleep when compared with non-Hispanic White and married participants, respectively. Also, persistent short sleep was associated with higher odds of incident MetS but not incident hypertension. Overall, persistently getting little sleep throughout pregnancy and the first 2 to 7 years after giving birth was linked to a higher risk of metabolic syndrome in nulliparous women.

Reference:

Kim, M., Wiener, L. E., Gilbert, J., McNeil, R. B., Reid, K. J., Grobman, W. A., Facco, F., Haas, D. M., Silver, R. M., Greenland, P., Yee, L. M., Zee, P. C., Dalton, W., Louis, J. M., Mercer, B. M., Polito, L., Iams, J., Latimer, C., … Barone Gibbs, B. (2024). Persistent Short Sleep Duration From Pregnancy to 2 to 7 Years After Delivery and Metabolic Health. In JAMA Network Open (Vol. 7, Issue 12, p. e2452204). American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.52204