P
|
eople who are in a
precarious financial position have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
New research reveals that chronic sleep loss may contribute to this risk in the
context of social inequality.
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sleep may help explain why people with low incomes are at higher risk of heart
disease, especially in the case of men.
Last year, research
featured in the journal Circulation of
the American Heart Association explained that individuals with low
socioeconomic status are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than
those who are in a less precarious financial condition.
And as recently as April of
this year, a study published in The Lancet: Global HealthTrusted Source found that people living in low income
countries face a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
Many biological and
psychosocial factors can explain the link between low socioeconomic status and
a higher risk of heart problems, such as anxiety and high blood
pressure.
But in a new study,
researchers affiliated with the Lifepath Consortium — a research
consortium aiming to understand better how socioeconomic differences impact
health — have gathered evidence that poor sleep may significantly contribute to
the risk of cardiovascular disease in people at a financial disadvantage.
The team reports and
explains the new findings in a study paper that features in the journal Cardiovascular Research.
In the study paper, the researchers outline why they were interested in the
potential link between socioeconomic status, sleep duration, and heart
disease, explaining that:
"First, individuals who experienced
social adversity across the life-course report sleep-related problems more
frequently [...] In particular, people working in shifts, living in deprived
neighborhoods, or who have experienced adversity in childhood show an increased
prevalence of sleep-related disorders. Second, inadequate sleep has been
associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease."
Poor sleep explains 13.4% of the link in men
In the current study, the
investigators analyzed data from a total of 111,205 participants across eight
different cohorts from four countries: France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland,
and Portugal.
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The team split the
participants into different socioeconomic categories — low, middle, or high
income — based on the participants' occupation, as well as the occupation of
each participant's father.
Thanks to medical exams and
self-reported measures, the researchers also had access to the participants'
history of coronary heart
disease and cardiovascular events. The investigators also
looked at measures of sleep duration, categorizing them as recommended sleep
(6–8.5 hours per night), long sleep (over 8.5. hours per night), and short
sleep (fewer than 6 hours per night).
To understand how, and if
sleep loss was likely to contribute to cardiovascular problems in people of
different incomes, the researchers used mediation analysis, a specialized
statistical method.
The researchers' findings
indicated that insufficient sleep might play a role in the heightened risk of
cardiovascular disease in people of lower socioeconomic status. However, the
impact seemed to vary by biological sex.
The
researchers note that short sleep likely explains 13.4% of the link between
occupations associated with lower socioeconomic status and coronary heart
disease in men.
Although women in lower
socioeconomic groups also get heart disease, it does not appear to be linked to
sleep in the same way as in men. The researchers hypothesize that this may be
because most women already face a much higher burden of responsibilities
outside of their professional occupation that independently affects their sleep
and their health.
According to study
co-author Dusan Petrovic from the University Centre of General Medicine and
Public Health in Lausanne, Switzerland, "Women with low socioeconomic
status often combine the physical and psychosocial strain of manual, poorly
paid jobs with household responsibilities and stress,
which negatively affects sleep and its health-restoring effects compared to
men."
Based on the study
findings, the researchers argue that societies must address many issues that
lie at their cores in order to help every single one of their members to
achieve adequate sleep as much as possible.
"Structural reforms
are needed at every level of society to enable people to get more sleep,"
advises Petrovic.
"For example, attempting to reduce
noise, which is an important source of sleep disturbances, with double glazed
windows, limiting traffic, and not building houses next to airports or
highways."
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