Sleep plays a complex role in metabolic regulation, and the underlying linkage has not been clearly defined. We investigated the association between sleep duration and metabolic disorders in Filipino immigrants to Korea.
We analyzed 410 participants from the 2014 to 2016 baseline population of the Filipino Women’s Diet and Health Study. Usual sleep duration was self-reported, and anthropometric parameters were measured directly. Blood glucose, lipid, and insulin levels were examined from fasting serum samples. We used general linear models to acquire least squares (LS) means and logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios to test the cross-sectional association between sleep duration and metabolic markers with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
We found a statistically significant linear association between increased sleep duration and elevated triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). LS means (95% CI) of 8 hours of sleep were 81.74 (71.43 to 93.54), 85.15 (76.65 to 94.59), 86.33 (77.84 to 95.75), and 105.22 (88.07 to 125.71), respectively, for triglycerides ( trend=0.049) and 174.52 (165.02 to 184.57), 180.50 (172.79 to 188.55), 182.51 (174.83 to 190.53), and 190.16 (176.61 to 204.74), respectively, for total cholesterol ( trend=0.042). For LDL-C, the LS means (95% CI) were 97.34 (88.80 to 106.71), 100.69 (93.73 to 108.18), 104.47 (97.35 to 112.1), and 109.43 (96.94 to 123.54), respectively ( trend=0.047). Statistical significance persisted after additional adjustment for body mass index. The association with triglycerides was limited to current alcohol drinkers ( interaction=0.048).
Longer sleep duration was associated with increased triglyceride, total cholesterol, and LDL-C levels. The association with triglycerides was more pronounced among moderate alcohol drinkers.