Self-reported Sleep Duration and Hypertension in Older Spanish Adults

Objectives: To examine the association between self-reported sleep duration, prevalent and incident hypertension, and control of high blood pressure in older adults.

Design: Logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations of interest in a prospective cohort study conducted from 2001 to 2003.

Setting: Cohort representative of the noninstitutionalized Spanish population.

Participants: Three thousand six hundred eighty-six persons aged 60 and older.

Measurements: Sleep duration was reported in 2001 by asking the participants "How many hours do you usually sleep per day (day and night)" and classified into categories (4-5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10-15 h/d. The outcome variables were prevalent hypertension (systolic blood pressure > or =140 mmHg, diastolic pressure > or =90 mmHg, or antihypertensive treatment in 2001), control of blood pressure (systolic blood pressure <140 mmHg and diastolic pressure <90 mmHg in subjects receiving antihypertensive treatment in 2001), and incident hypertension (diagnosis of hypertension during 2001-2003 in individuals with normal pressure in 2001).

Results: Compared with sleeping 7 hours, sleeping more or fewer hours was not significantly associated with prevalent hypertension (odds ratios (ORs) ranged from 0.82 (95% confidence interval (CI)=0.64-1.05) to 1.10 (95% CI 0.83-1.46)), control of blood pressure (ORs ranged from 0.70 (95% CI 0.46-1.08) to 0.97 (95% CI 0.60-1.56)), or incident hypertension (OR ranged from 0.54 (95% CI 0.29-1.01) to 0.83 (95% CI 0.43-1.60)). The results were similar in both sexes.

Conclusion: Self-reported sleep duration is not associated with hypertension in older adults.