0342 Self-Silencing within Intimate Relationships, Sleep, and Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Midlife Women

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Social relationships are important for health. In some relationships, women learn to self-silence, or to inhibit self-expression to avoid conflict or loss. Self-silencing is associated with reported psychiatric and physical symptoms, but no studies have examined whether self-silencing is related to worse sleep or cardiovascular (CV) health. We tested relationships of self-silencing to sleep and carotid plaque in midlife women; secondary analyses examined whether sleep mediated or moderated relationships between self-silencing and plaque. Methods In an ongoing community-based study of nonsmoking women, 304 women aged 40-60 were assessed at baseline; 157 of these women have been assessed 5 years later. At baseline, women reported on self-expression in their current/last intimate relationship via the Silencing the Self Scale. At both visits, women provided self-reports (demographics, medical history, CESD depression, PSQI sleep quality), physical measures, actigraphy (total sleep time [TST], wake after sleep onset [WASO], and efficiency), and carotid artery ultrasound to quantify plaque. Relationships of self-silencing and subscales to sleep (subjective and actigraphic sleep at baseline and averaged across visits) and carotid plaque (0, 1, ≥2) were tested in linear regression and multinomial regression models, respectively, adjusted for demographic and health indices, including depressive symptoms and snoring. Results At baseline, women (72% White) were on average 54 years old; 44% reported poor sleep quality, 46% had plaque (24% score ≥2), and average TST, WASO, and efficiency were 6.2 hrs, 46 min, and 84%, respectively. At baseline, self-silencing (particularly the tendency to judge oneself by external standards) was related to worse sleep quality (p=.001), but better actigraphic WASO (p=.02) and efficiency (p=.02). Self-silencing was related to worse average sleep quality across visits (p=.001). Self-silencing related to higher odds of baseline plaque ≥2 [OR(95% CI)=1.14 (1.02,1.28), p=.02], yet sleep did not explain or moderate this relationship. Conclusion Self-silencing was associated with worse subjective, but better actigraphic sleep at baseline, and with poorer sleep quality over 5 years. Self-silencing related to carotid atherosclerosis, yet sleep did not appear to impact this relationship. Emotional expression is relevant to midlife women’s sleep and CV health. Support R01HL105647, K24123565 (RCT); RF1AG053504 (RCT & PM); T32MH018269 (KPJ)