Dr Nishant Raizada, Professor & Head, Dept, of Endocrinology, UCMS and GTB Hospital, New Delhi; and Dr Sanjay Kalra, DM (AIIMS), Treasurer, International Society of Endocrinology; Bharti Hospital, Karnal, Haryana
Individuals who sleep less than 7 hours per night are at a higher risk of developing hypertension, suggests a study published Feb. 4, 2025 in The Journal of General Internal Medicine.1 Women and those under 60 are particularly at risk.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies was conducted to determine the association between duration of nighttime sleep and the risk of hypertension. A total of 173,734 participants were included in the meta-analysis following a comprehensive search in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, Cqvip, and Wanfang Database for eligible cohort studies published up to May 30, 2023.
Among the 173,734 participants included in the meta-analysis, 41,528 ultimately developed hypertension. The analysis revealed a correlation between short sleep duration and an increased risk of hypertension, with risk ratios of 1.07 for those sleeping ≤7 hours, 1.04 for 6–7 hours, and 1.17 for those sleeping less than 6 hours. Among women, the pooled risk of developing hypertension was 1.07 for those with a sleep duration of 6–7 hours and 1.12 for those sleeping less than 6 hours. Among individuals under 60 years of age, an increased risk of hypertension was associated with sleep durations of less than 6 hours and between 6 and 7 hours, with pooled risk estimates of 1.24 and 1.05, respectively.
These findings emphasize the role of adequate sleep duration as a significant modifiable risk factor in the prevention and management of hypertension. Sleep assessment should be a part of routine cardiovascular risk evaluation. This study also has public health implications. Sleep hygiene education should be integrated into hypertension prevention programs, alongside traditional lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise.