Abstract MP073: Sleep Patterns and Depression in a Diverse Sample of Women from the AHA Go Red for Women Strategically Focused Research Network (SFRN)

Abstract

Background: Depression has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) through biological mechanisms and altered lifestyle behaviors, possibly including short and/or long sleep duration. However the relation between specific sleep components and depressive symptoms, and interaction by race/ethnicity has not been fully defined. The purpose of this study was to determine if sleep patterns including short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and insomnia were associated with depressive symptoms in a free-living ethnically diverse population of adult women, and if they varied by racial/ethnic status. Methods: English or Spanish speaking females between the ages of 20-79 y, participating in an observational cohort study as part of the American Heart Association Go Red for Women SFRN, were included (n=50, 56% (28 of 50) non-white, mean age = 41 ±18y). Sleep patterns were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a validated instrument used to measure the quality and duration of sleep in adults. Presence of insomnia was measured using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Linear and logistic regression models were used to evaluate cross-sectional associations between sleep patterns and depression overall, and by race/ethnicity. Results: Overall, nearly one-fifth of participants had depressive symptoms (BDI II score ≤13), 18% (9 of 50) had short sleep duration (<6 hours per night), 38% (19 of 50) had poor quality sleep (PSQI score ≥5), and 40% (20 of 50) had some level of insomnia (ISI score ≥8). Mean BDI-II scores among women who slept <6 versus ≥6 hours were significantly greater (16 versus 5, p=.0003). Higher depression scores were associated with shorter sleep duration (p=.001), poorer sleep quality (p=.03), and higher insomnia severity (p<.0001) overall. There was no association between depression and long sleep (≥8 hours). When stratified by race/ethnicity, depression was significantly associated with poor sleep quality among minority women in multivariable models adjusted for demographic confounders (OR=1.42, 95% CI=1.03-1.95), but not among non-Hispanic white women. Depression was also significantly associated with insomnia severity (p<.001), and sleep duration (p=.03) among minority women only, in multivariable adjusted models stratified by race/ethnicity. Conclusions: In this diverse sample of women, sleep problems were highly prevalent. Poor sleep quality, insomnia, and short sleep duration (but not long sleep) were associated with greater depressive symptoms among minority women but not whites. These preliminary data suggest that minority women with short sleep duration may be at heightened CVD risk from depression. Future research should determine if interventions designed to improve sleep result in decreased depressive symptoms and reduced CVD risk.