Author Interviews, PAD, Sleep Disorders / 29.06.2016
Sleep Disturbances Associated With Development of PAD
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Mako Nagayoshi, Ph.D, Assistant Professor
Department of Community Medicine,
Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Science
Nagasaki Japan
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Sleep apnea is a common in the US adult population; approximately 13% of men and 6% of women have moderate to severe sleep apnea. Short sleep duration also is highly prevalent in the population. Numerous biological pathways linking sleep disturbances to atherosclerosis have been identified, such as insulin resistance, inflammation, hypertension, and endothelial dysfunction. Yet, the association of sleep apnea and sleep duration with peripheral artery disease (PAD) is not well characterized.
This study provides some of first evidence that there is an association between sleep apnea and prevalent and incident PAD, with evidence for stronger associations with objectively measured sleep apnea and cross sectional PAD in blacks. In addition, short and long sleep duration were associated with PAD. These results identify sleep disturbances as a potential risk factor for PAD.
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