Evidence of the Association Between Sleep Duration and Blood Pressure in Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective: To review the epidemiological evidence of the association between sleep duration and blood pressure in adolescents. Data sources: We performed a systematic review of observational studies in Medline, Scopus, Lilacs, Web of Science, Science Direct databases and Virtual Libraries in English, Spanish and Portuguese published until September 2018. Studies were selected first by title and abstract, then by complete reading, according to the eligibility criteria. The reference list of selected articles was evaluated in order to retrieve relevant studies. Data synthesis: Initially, 1,455 articles were retrieved. After exclusion due to duplicity or not meeting the eligibility criteria, 13 articles were included in the review. Studies varied greatly in sample size (143 to 6,940 patients), methods of measuring blood pressure and sleep duration, cutoff points, categorization and adjustment of variables. The main evidence from the studies is that short sleep duration is associated with high blood pressure in adolescence, although the presence of association between high blood pressure and long sleep duration is possible, but not clear in the literature. Conclusions: Sleep duration, especially short duration, is associated with high blood pressure in adolescents. Such evidence draws attention to implications on cardiovascular health in this age group.

Prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing among adolescents and its association with the presence of obesity and hypertension

“…However, a positive association was observed between reduced sleep hours and HTN. This is consistent with a recent meta-analysis, 34 and highlights the duration of sleep as a factor capable of regulating cardiovascular risk in children and adolescents.…”

High burden of hypertension amongst adult population in rural districts of Northwest Ethiopia: A call for community based intervention

“…Participants in this study who slept <6 hours per 24 hours (with short sleep duration) were twice as likely to develop hypertension as those who slept 6 or more hours per night. This was consistent with the Sleep Heart Health Study (SHHS) [ 47 ], a study conducted in northeast China among adults aged 18–44 years [ 77 ], and a meta-analysis [ 78 – 82 ]. This could be because short sleep durations or sleep deprivation cause over activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which leads to high blood pressure [ 83 ].…”

Prevalencia de trastornos respiratorios del sueño en adolescentes y su relación con la presencia de obesidad e hipertensión arterial

“…En cambio, sí se observó una asociación positiva entre la disminución de las horas de sueño y la presencia de HTA. Esto concuerda con un metaanálisis reciente, 34 y destaca la duración del sueño como un factor capaz de modular el riesgo cardiovascular en niños y adolescentes.…”