Metabolism, metabolic syndrome, obesity and sleep

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea and metabolic syndrome are significant risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Several reports have shown that sleep duration also has a significant effect on body mass index and cardiovascular diseases. The relationships among obstructive sleep apnea, metabolic syndrome, components of metabolic syndrome, and sleep duration in 275 urban males in Japan were investigated. One in 6 subjects with metabolic syndrome, but only 1 in 40 without metabolic syndrome, had severe obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep duration was significantly shorter in subjects with severe obstructive sleep apnea (5.4 ± 0.9 hrs) than in subjects with non (6.1 ± 0.8 hrs: P < 0.05) or mild obstructive sleep apnea (6.0 ± 0.8 hrs: P < 0.05). Mean sleep duration was significantly shorter in those with than without metabolic syndrome (5.8 ± 0.8 hrs vs. 6.1 ±0.8 hrs: P = 0.026) and was 5.3 ± 1.1 hrs in metabolic syndrome subjects with severe obstructive sleep apnea and 5.9 ± 0.8 (P = 0.021) in metabolic syndrome subjects without severe obstructive apnea. Physicians should take into account the high prevalence of severe obstructive sleep apnea in patients with metabolic syndrome. Sleep duration should be considered as an important factor in studies investigating the prevalence of severe obstructive sleep apnea and metabolic syndrome.