Presenter Name: Alisha Chong
Description
Insufficient sleep is highly prevalent in the adult population and often goes unaddressed during patient visits in health clinics. Previous studies demonstrate that receiving insufficient sleep is linked to an increased risk of other health issues like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. However, the relationships and mechanisms underlying how sleep affects these health issues is not well known. Thus, the current study aims to investigate the impact of insufficient sleep on C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, insulin sensitivity, and blood pressure. CRP is an inflammatory marker which has been linked to a greater risk of cardiovascular events, and prior research has found conflicting information on whether insufficient sleep significantly affects CRP levels. Additionally, reduced insulin sensitivity is associated with type 2 diabetes, and both type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure may increase cardiovascular disease risk. Understanding how insufficient sleep affects insulin sensitivity as well as blood pressure and CRP levels may provide insight into the means by which insufficient sleep increases type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk. Data collection is ongoing with 12 participants completing the study to date. The study protocol consists of measuring CRP levels, insulin sensitivity, and blood pressure of healthy individuals aged 18-35 who chronically receive insufficient sleep (<6.5h). After baseline assessments, participants complete a 4-week intervention aiming to increase their sleep duration to the recommended 7 hours of sleep per night. Sleep duration throughout the study is monitored using an Actiwatch and sleep logs. Of the 12 participants who have completed the study, sleep duration was 5.7±0.2 (±SEM) hours at baseline and significantly increased (p<0.001) by ~38.4±5.4 minutes during sleep extension. Further analyses of CRP, blood pressure, and insulin sensitivity data at baseline and at intervention will provide insight into how or whether increasing sleep duration can mitigate risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The current hypothesis is that increasing sleep duration of people chronically receiving <6.5h of sleep per night will lower plasma CRP levels, decrease blood pressure, and increase insulin sensitivity. A better understanding of how insufficient sleep increases risk of cardiometabolic disease could help inform interventions designed to prevent chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
University / Institution: University of Utah
Type: Poster
Format: In Person
Presentation #A71
SESSION A (9:00-10:30AM)
Area of Research: Health & Medicine
Email: u1192147@utah.edu
Faculty Mentor: Christopher Depner