Actigraphy-based sleep characteristics and aortic stiffness: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to examine the association based on objective estimates of sleep duration and quality and aortic stiffness while accounting for the potential confounding effect of SDB. METHOD: Participants were part of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Sleep study. Sleep duration and quality were assessed by 7-day wrist actigraphy, SDB by home polysomnography, and aortic stiffness by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), ascending and descending aorta distensibility (AAD and DAD). Aortic stiffness of participants with ‘normal’ sleep duration (6–8 hours) were compared with those of ‘short’ (8 hours) adjusting for common cardiovascular risk factors and apnea hypopnea index (AHI). RESULTS: The sample consisted of 908 participants (mean age 68.4±9.1 years, 55.3% female). There was a significant linear trend of increased aPWV across short (n=252), normal (n=552), and long sleep durations (n=104) (p for trend=0.008). Multivariable analysis showed that people with short sleep duration had 0.94 m/s lower aPWV (95% CI: −1.54, −0.35), compared with those with normal sleep duration. CONCLUSION: In this ethnically diverse community cohort, habitual short sleep duration as estimated by actigraphy was associated with lower aortic stiffness.