Sleep Habits of Women With Infertility

Overview

Journal J Clin Endocrinol Metab

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Endocrinology

Date 2021 Jun 28

PMID 34180998

Citations 16

Authors

Esther Eisenberg

Richard S Legro

Michael P Diamond

Hao Huang

Louise M OBrien

Yolanda R Smith

Christos Coutifaris

Karl R Hansen

Nanette Santoro

Heping Zhang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Context: Sleep plays important roles in metabolic and reproductive function, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with sleep disturbances, including increased prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea.

Objective: We sought to evaluate sleep parameters in infertile women with PCOS compared with women with unexplained infertility (UI) and identify risk factors for disturbed sleep.

Methods: At private and academic ambulatory gynecology and infertility practices, we evaluated a prospective cohort of women diagnosed with PCOS or UI from 2 randomized clinical trials. We included 1603 infertile women enrolled in 2 concurrent randomized clinical trials. The main outcome measures were self-reported sleep measures.

Results: Sleep duration <6 hours (6.1% vs 2.7%; P < .001), habitual snoring (37.8% vs 19.0%; P < .001), and clinical sleepiness (12.0% vs 8.6%; P < .026) were more common in women with PCOS than those with UI. After adjusting for covariates, PCOS and elevated fasting insulin were associated (P = .010) with clinical symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) diagnosis, whereas PCOS, elevated insulin (P = .003), WC >88 cm (P = .003), and current smoking (P = .012) were associated with habitual snoring. Clinical depression score (P < .001) and PCOS diagnosis (P = .002) were associated with perceived daytime sleepiness. Short sleep duration and clinical symptoms of OSA were not associated with conception and live birth rates.

Conclusion: Infertile women with PCOS more commonly report sleep disturbances than those with UI. Markers of insulin resistance are associated with previous diagnosis of OSA, habitual snoring, and short sleep duration. The presence of clinical symptoms of OSA or short sleep duration does not affect fertility treatment response.

Citing Articles

Relationship Between Sleep Disturbances and In Vitro Fertilization Outcomes in Infertile Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Habibi F, Nikbakht R, Jahanfar S, Ahmadi M, Eslami M, Azizi M Brain Behav. 2025; 15(2):e70293.

PMID: 39924965 PMC: 11808184. DOI: 10.1002/brb3.70293.

Sleep disturbances and female infertility: a systematic review.

Li J, Huang Y, Xu S, Wang Y BMC Womens Health. 2024; 24(1):643.

PMID: 39707272 PMC: 11660991. DOI: 10.1186/s12905-024-03508-y.

Causal evidence of the relationship between polycystic ovary syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea in European and East Asian populations: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Liu X, He R, Zhu K, Lin Z, Jiang Z, Wu H J Thorac Dis. 2024; 16(11):7372-7382.

PMID: 39678857 PMC: 11635232. DOI: 10.21037/jtd-24-885.

Combined impact of sleep and obesity on female infertility in the NHANES 2017-2020.

Wang Z, Lai Y, Huang S, Liu Y, Chen S BMC Womens Health. 2024; 24(1):315.

PMID: 38824522 PMC: 11143667. DOI: 10.1186/s12905-024-03164-2.

High Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratio is Associated with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome.

Bao W, Gao J, Fang S, Zhang S, Wan Y J Inflamm Res. 2024; 17:2137-2145.

PMID: 38617384 PMC: 11012776. DOI: 10.2147/JIR.S455559.

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