Longitudinal study of the relationship between sleep duration and hypertension in Chinese adult residents (CHNS 2004–2011)

Objective To determine the associations between sleep duration and hypertension in Chinese adults. Methods This longitudinal study analyzed 9851 adults who had participated in at least two rounds of the CHNS (China Health and Nutrition Survey) during 2004–2011. Sleep duration was classified into ≤7, 8, and ≥9 h. Age, sex, residence location, education level, smoking, drinking alcohol, drinking tea, drinking coffee, activity level, and body mass index were adjusted as confounders in a generalized linear mixed model. Results The unadjusted analysis showed that compared with a normal sleep duration (8 h), the odds ratios (ORs) for those with short (≤7 h) and long (≥9 h) sleep durations were 1.24 and 1.17, respectively (95% confidence intervals [CIs] = 1.14–1.36 and 1.06–1.29). After adjusting for confounding factors, the effect of a short sleep duration on hypertension was still statistically significant, with an OR of 1.13 (95% CI = 1.04–1.24), while a long sleep duration no longer had a statistically significant effect. Conclusions A short sleep duration is an independent risk factor for adult hypertension, whereas a long sleep duration is not in Chinese adults. The prevalence of hypertension should be prevented and controlled by improving the sleep status of adults.