SLEEP - Associations of Early Pregnancy Sleep Duration with Trimester-Specific Blood Pressures and Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy

VOLUME 33, ISSUE 10

HYPERTENSION EFFECTS OF SLEEP DURATION DURING PREGNANCY
Associations of Early Pregnancy Sleep Duration with Trimester-Specific Blood Pressures and Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy

Michelle A. Williams, ScD¹^,²; Raymond S. Miller, BA¹; Chunfang Qiu, MD, MS¹; Swee May Cripe, PhD²; Bizu Gelaye, BSc²; Daniel Enquobahrie, MD, PhD¹^,²

¹Center for Perinatal Studies, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle WA; ²Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, WA

Table of Contents

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Study Objectives:

We evaluated the influence of maternal self-reported habitual sleep duration during early pregnancy on blood pressure (BP) levels and risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Design:

Prospective cohort study.

Setting:

Clinic-based study.

Participants:

A cohort of 1,272 healthy, pregnant women.

Measurements and Results:

We abstracted maternal antenatal BP values from medical records and estimated mean BP differences across hours of sleep categories in regression models, using generalized estimating equations. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and preeclampsia (PE) in relation to long and short sleep duration were estimated. Mean 1^st and 2^nd trimester systolic (S) and diastolic (D) BP values were similar among women reporting to be short sleepers (≤ 6 h) vs. women reporting to sleep 9 hours. However, both short and long sleep duration in early pregnancy were associated with increased mean 3^rd trimester SBP and DBP. For example, mean 3^rd trimester SBP was 3.72, and 2.43 mm Hg higher for women reporting ≤ 6 h and 7-8 h sleep, respectively, compared with women reporting 9 h of sleep. Mean 3^rd trimester SBP was 4.21 mm Hg higher for women reporting long sleep (≥ 10 h) vs. the reference group. Short and long sleep durations were associated with increased risks of PIH and PE. The ORs for very short (< 5 h) and long (≥ 10 h) sleepers were 9.52 (95% CI 1.83 to 49.40) and 2.45 (95% CI 0.74 to 8.15) for PE.

Conclusions:

Our findings are consistent with a larger literature that documents elevated blood pressure and increased risks of hypertension with short and long sleep duration.

Citation:

Williams MA; Miller RS; Qiu C; Cripe SM; Gelaye B; Enquobahrie D. Associations of early pregnancy sleep duration with trimester-specific blood pressures and hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. SLEEP 2010;33(10):1363-1371.