Relationship between sleep quality and cardiovascular disease risk in Chinese post-menopausal women

Abstract

Abstract Background Menopause is an inevitable stage affecting every middle-aged woman. China has a large and increasing group of post-menopausal women. Most post-menopausal women suffer from increased risks for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and sleep problems. Previous studies have demonstrated the associations between sleep disorders and increased CVD risks in general population. The current study is to examine the relationship between sleep quality and CVD risks among Chinese post-menopausal women. Methods This study was a sub-study nested in a cross-sectional study that investigated the sleep quality of community-dwelling adults in Xian, Shaanxi Province, China. The Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Framingham 10-year risk score (FRS) were used to measure sleep quality and CVD risk among 154 Chinese post-menopausal women. Multivariate regression and logistic regression were used to determine the association between sleep quality and CVD risk. Results The participants (age: 63.65 ± 4.47 years) experienced poor sleep quality (mean score of global PSQI = 8.58) and a 10-year risk of CVD of 12.54%. The CVD risk was significantly associated with sleep duration (β = − 0.18, p = 0.04) and sleep disturbance (β = 0.33, p 10%) (odds ratio = 0.51, p = 0.04). Conclusions Poor sleep quality might increase the CVD risk in post-menopausal women. Interventions to promote the cardiovascular health of Chinese post-menopausal women may need to include sleep promotion strategies.

Keywords

• Cardiovascular disease risk
• Post-menopausal women
• Sleep quality