Association between sleep duration and electrocardiographic ischemic changes in middle-aged population: Isfahan Healthy Heart Program

Recent studies examining the association between sleep duration and cardiovascular disease (CVD) showed inconsistent results. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between self-reported night sleep duration and ischemic changes in electrocardiography (ECG).
We conducted this cross-sectional study on 3513 participants from Iranian middle-aged population as a part of Isfahan Healthy Heart Program (IHHP), Isfahan, Iran. Sleep duration was obtained by questioning participants. The frequency of electrocardiographic ischemic changes was calculated using ECG Minnesota coding system.
Short sleep duration was associated with increased frequency of electrocardiographic ischemic changes. In a fully adjusted multiple logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio (OR) for short sleep duration less than 5 hours per night was 1.501 [95% confidence interval (CI) for OR: 1.085-2.076] compared to 8 hours of sleep. After stratifying the study population into sex groups, the association remained significant only in women. The OR for short sleep less than 5 hours per night was 1.565 (95% CI for OR: 1.052-2.329) and 1.455 (95% CI for OR: 0.833-2.539) in women and men, respectively. There was no association between long sleep duration and electrocardiographic ischemic changes in men and women.
We concluded that there is a positive association between short sleep duration and frequency of electrocardiographic ischemic changes in middle-aged women. This association suggests that short sleep duration may increase the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in women, and this need to be evaluated in further studies.