Gender Differences in Associations between Insufficient Sleep and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Endpoints: A Contemporary Review

Abstract

Abstract Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States for both men and women. The increasing appreciation of the gender differences in behavioral and physiologic interconnectedness of cardiometabolic risk factors has led to a growing literature evaluating relationships between sleep—an integral part of overall health and a source of physiological resilience—in relation to CVD and its risk factors in male and female cohorts. This article reviews the published research related to gender differences in the role of insufficient sleep in the etiology of CVD. Evidence on gender differences in the associations between sleep and other behavioral risk factors for CVD, namely diet and physical activity, is in the nascent stages of characterization but suggests that insufficient sleep may have a more pronounced detrimental impact on the diets of women. The literature on gender differences in the role of insufficient sleep in inflammation, dyslipidemia, glycemic co...